Black Mud Swamp
by Zadien
Summary: Updated! The Winx Club and Specialists are split up looking for the Trix. Musa and Riven discover them in the Black Mud Swamp and they need to work together and overcome their differences in order to safely survive a hostile environment, a witchy ex-girlfriend and her megalomaniac sisters. Perhaps something more will come of this partnership, if they can get over their flaws.
1. Part One

**A.N.** This story was inspired by the fact that I wanted to write another Riven/Musa one shot and I saw a picture of the two of them lying under a bush and while I have no idea what episode it came from (other than it was in the second series) or what they were doing (completely innocent, I swear), it inspired me to write this. Some of the things that are referred to come from the game based on the first series, considering I don't actually get to watch the show, I get all my inspiration and information from the game which isn't completely correct considering how much the names are changed in all the various forms.

So this is pretty much AU but set after the first series but some months into the second year at Alfea. Riven never apologized to Musa and so they never had that weird moment after the final battle.

Anyway, enough of me. Read on:

* * *

**Black Mud Swamp - Part One**

**By**: Zadien

* * *

Musa slumped against the railings that bordered the steps into Alfea's main entrance and tilted her head towards the sky, soaking up the sunshine while she and her friends awaited the boys. As part of a class/mission (for the boys never did class projects, they did missions... not for the first time did Musa wish she could be a boy) they were to be paired up and sent into the Black Mud Swamp to practice stealth work. Well that's what Griselda had been droning on about, though Musa couldn't really remember the details –it was hard to concentrate on much when there was drool sliding down your arm. Mental note, don't sit next to Stella during morning classes.

"It'll be nice to get away from the school for a while, won't it?" Ever the optimist, Flora stretched her arms over her head and smiled warmly as she rolled back onto the heels.

"You do realize the real reason we're doing this has nothing to do with grades, right?" Aisha, everyone's favorite feminist, stated grimly, sparing the girls all a pointed look.

"It's not? Then why am I out here getting sunburned which will eventually lead to freckles and skin debilitating diseases when I should be inside?!" Stella demanded, fisting a hand against her hip. Musa figured she probably thought that washing her hair or painting her nails was more worthwhile, Stella was vain like that. Nevertheless, she was still one of her best friends... just a vain best friend who was obsessed with fashion and platform sandals... yeah.

"Stella, this is important." Bloom reminded her gently. "We're not just studying to be good with our powers; we're studying to be great fairies, warriors even."

Aisha nodded approvingly. "Exactly, why should guys be the ones to save everyone? Do you want to be a fairy godmother, helping make the dreams and wishes of silly airheaded humans –no offence Bloom- come true?"

"Um... no? But I'm not going to be a warrior; I'm a princess. We Princesses do not fight."

"Actually, it's officially been noted that many princesses have been involved or have led armies against the creatures of darkness that have threatened their worlds. I have the statistics right here-"

"Ah, no thanks, Tecna." Stella chirped cheerfully, turning her attention to her nails while the magenta haired computer genius continued to observe her figures.

"So we're going to the Black Mud Swamp, the Shadow Haunt and the Downlands to search for any suspicious goings on or hints that the Trix have been staying there, right?" Musa queried, trying to get the facts of the mission clear in her head. Really, that drool had such a serious side affect on her concentration.

"Yep, that's the basics of it." Bloom explained cheerfully. "We go in and keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary; if you find something, stay back and observe, no going in by yourself to handle it and if you think it's serious enough, call for back up, wait for back up and do not engage the enemy on your own."

"Can I be paired with Brandon?"

"..."

Musa wrinkled her nose, a habit she'd developed over the past month or so. "That might not be such a good idea. You two have to keep an eye on your surroundings, not each other. Same for you and Sky, Bloom."

"What about you and Riven?"

"Getting him to look at me would actually be a huge achievement. Trust me, there's nothing to worry about there. The guy's so not into me, but his loss."

"Damn straight it is; besides you don't need a guy. Half the time I think we're better off without them. Misogynistic, controlling, overbearing-"

"You're not talking about us, are you Aisha?" Sky joked, skipping up the steps to place a tender kiss on Bloom's cheek as he slowly turned to regard the dark skinned girl with amusement.

"Actually, I wasn't talking about you; I was talking about your sex as a whole."

"Does she ever stop?" Riven muttered, propping his boot on the steps and regarding Musa with a dry look.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, having met you, I'm beginning to agree with her. Some guys are misogynistic and controlling and overbearing... and just general assholes."

"Oh great, she's got a convert." Riven muttered. Musa sneered at him. Really, the guy thought he was the Dragons' gift.

"You don't really hate guys, right Aisha?" Flora queried, her brow furrowed in confused bewilderment. All the guys she'd met were quite nice. Sky, Brandon, Timmy...Helia. She flushed and ducked her head, playing with a flower she'd plucked from a nearby shrub.

"Not all guys, some are ok. I just really hate assholes who agree to arranged marriages."

Bloom nodded emphatically to that while Stella added her agreement vocally. "Arranged marriages are the pits."

Brandon sighed heavily. "They make political sense, honey."

"Uh, hello, they're stupid and only cause problems. I mean look at Sky and Diaspro, talk about a match made in the Shadowhaunt."

Riven rolled his eyes. He had come here to become a hero, not to indulge in teenage melodrama. "Ugh, whatever, let's go."

Bloom smiled, taking her spot at the centre of the group. "Right, let's choose the pairs, Stella-"

"Who died and made you the boss?" Riven interrupted indignantly. "Look I have the training, I'll make the decisions and Musa's coming with me."

"Say what?" The musical fairy gaped at him before looking to her friends for some kind of emotional backup. The dark skinned fairy took a step forward but Riven opened his mouth once more, offering up logic rather than fairy friendship nostalgia.

"Look, I need you to filter out sounds and since we're going to the Black Mud swamp which is teeming with insects, it makes sense that you should come."

"Great so you just want me for my powers." Musa muttered, folding her arms tightly against her chest and glowering down at him through dark eyes.

"Why else would I want you? Your sparkling wit and repartee? Don't think so." He waved at hand at Bloom but looked at Sky. "You can decide the rest; let's get going jinx."

* * *

Musa sent a sweeping look around the black mud swamp and wrinkled her nose. It didn't matter how often she came to this place, it still smelt like something rotten had died and was now slowly decomposing into liquid ooze permuting the air with its stench. Gross. Shoving her hands into the pockets of her khaki shorts, she cocked her hips and studied Riven's crouched form.

"Find anything?"

Riven continued to prod the ground but didn't reply, the only hint that he had heard her came from the way his body tensed momentarily, as though he'd forgotten she was there. Jerk. She didn't know why his headmaster insisted on sticking him with her group of friends when anyone could see he would prefer to fly solo or deal with another group of fairies completely.

"I'll take that as a no." She moved to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the Black mud swamp spreading beneath her. The swamp was the most interesting place, filled with lakes of thick, bubbling slime and scattered with clumps of rushes, dead trees, overturned logs and odd cement tunnels that linked each path to another area. Yet despite the dreariness of the area, there were strange pockets of beauty such as the fire flowers, which unfurled their petals as people approached and sent sparks of ember like pollen into the air to attract their prey.

Her eyes locked onto a spider scuttling back and forth over its territory in search for any intruders but it was far enough away as to not cause any worries to her. She didn't like spiders on a whole but the spiders of the black mud swamp tended to be larger than any she'd ever encountered in the Harmonic Nebula. Even the ones in Cloud Tower were smaller; granted there were bigger things in Cloud Tower to worry about other than spiders; like Centaurs and worse, the Trix.

Closing her fist, she opened it, igniting a small ball of witchfire. For a moment, she watched it dance and glow within her palm; then she snapped her hand back and flung it into the closest tree, watching the bark splinter and split under the impact. A grin curved her lips, growing when she caught the glare Riven sent her.

"Do you want to just tell the enemy we're here?"

"Riven, I've been through this swamp several times since I came to Alfea, trust me, I could stage a full blown concert here and no one in the heart of Black Mud Swamp would know I was here. It's laced with sound barriers and magic. Fairies from generations back placed them here so that nature could thrive without being frightened off by loud noises from civilization."

He quirked a brow in surprise and she sighed. Wow, he really didn't have much respect for her as a person. Just because she didn't talk as smartly as Tecna didn't mean she wasn't as smart. Heck, according to her grades, she was better. After all, magic came from the heart and emotions were something she understood; it was the gift of the Harmonic Nebula.

"Look, there's nothing in this section; let's move onto the next."

He shot her a dark look, obviously not liking the fact that she was making the decisions and ventured further into the swamp, his phantom blade activated to slash through the brittle, thorny briars. Her gaze drifted thoughtfully to her bare legs and she glowered at his back, hovered by the pale blue cloak that was an integral part of the Red fountain uniform. She didn't quite understand the need for it since to her it made very little sense. What happened if their cloak happened to catch on something or the enemy seized it? To her the cloak symbolized a big weakness in the hero's makeup.

Despite what comments the Red Fountain guys made about their costumes, the minimum effect made it easy to maneuver, especially when they were flying; it was aerodynamic and made them look hot, which caused a great distraction when fighting male enemies. Flash a little bit of leg, and watch the guys' eyes cross, or so Stella said –but only to draw a reaction from Aisha.

Of course, Riven wouldn't notice that the path he cut wouldn't be easy on her legs because to notice that, he would have had to notice her legs. She scowled darkly.

"Oi, what's taking you so long?" He hissed, phantom blade dangling uselessly at his side.

Her glower darkened and when she was sure he was far enough away from her, she squeezed her fists at her side, summoned the furious heat within her and when she felt herself almost vibrating with the gathering power, she released it in a fearsome ring of fire that expanded outward from her body, incinerating everything in its path. Riven cursed and leapt backwards, sending her a black look.

"Watch it!"

"If you showed me a little consideration, I'd show you some too." She muttered, stepping through the path she'd cleared, viciously satisfied with how little remained of the thorny plants.

"What are you whining about now?"

Oh, he was so frustrating. The guy never apologized for anything. Well he never did to her. "Look, I am not wearing trousers so those briar- oh never mind." She stormed past him and wished she could just enter her winx mode but considering the fact that, a) using up that power would leave so little for later and she couldn't remain in winx mode indefinitely yet and b) she was supposed to complete the task as inconspicuously as possible, meant that she couldn't just fly away from him. Unfortunately. She wished she had been paired with someone else, anyone else other than Riven who cared for no one.

"Why are you wearing shorts anyway?" He demanded, giving her outfit a disdainful look. "You're in a swamp and you think showing skin is a good idea?"

"Because moron, this is the official Alfea School outing uniform. These clothes have waterproofing spells, dirt-proof spells and they conceal your natural scent so animals can't track you! Duh!"

Riven plucked the sleeve of her shirt thoughtfully and rubbed it between his fingers before picking up the edge of his cloak and comparing them. "Same kind of idea," he mused. "But why is there so little of it? You could be eaten alive by half the insects in this place."

"Not really, considering there's insect repellent integrated within the material too." She told him archly before striding further into the swamp, head held high and cheeks burning hotly. Stupid boy. He never noticed anything.

So far, nothing had come up on their search, and they were already half way through the swamp. However, one place seemed utterly familiar and Musa smirked, sending the purple haired Specialist a smug look. "So Riven, crash anymore ships lately?"

He sent her a vile look. "That ship was tampered with and you know it."

"Oh that's right, I remember Tecna saying something like that... then again how do we know it wasn't you who tampered with it? It wouldn't surprise me, knowing-" She broke off at the flinch that tightened his expression and she swallowed her words. So maybe he wasn't as cool as he made himself seem. Could he actually feel remorse for what he did? She always assumed that he was just upset that Darcy had played him; after all, he had never showed any hint of not wanting the witch beforehand. Who was to say he wouldn't have stuck with the witch if she had simply included him in the plan? But maybe she was wrong. Maybe Riven did feel guilty.

If she had expected him to explain himself, to apologize for what he had done to her, she'd be waiting a long time since Riven simply continued further into the swamp at a faster pace, hacking everything in front of him.

"Typical." She sighed heavily and jumped when her phone beeped quietly. Picking it out of her pocket, she slid it open and watched as Stella's face popped up, looking rather irate. "Hey Stell, good to see a friendly face. How's the hunt going?"

"_It's not. I swear to Great Dragon, we got the most boring place on all the planets to look_." Stella made a face and flipped her hair.

"_Come on Stella, it's not that bad_." Musa laughed as she heard Sky trying to remain upbeat and cheerful. He was probably just as bored as Stella was, but he had the good sense not to broadcast that, not to mention the fact that he had probably envisioned spending the time with Bloom. Well Riven and Aisha sure put an end to that idea. Maybe Aisha and Riven should have been together... no scratch that. She'd kill him and then ask them to bury his body; not a pretty thought.

"_It's worse. I wanted to be with Brandon_!" The blonde whined. "_Stupid Riven, YOU HEAR THAT RIVEN! IT'S YOUR FAULT I'M BORED_!"

"That idiot's going to get them in trouble." Riven replied, with bored glance at the phone before he traipsed onwards, his feet sloshing through the damp ground.

"Look, Stella I gotta go."

"_Oh fine, I was just calling to let Captain Stick-in-the-mud-without-hormones know that we've found nothing_!"

Musa simply quirked her lips in a wane attempt to placate her friend before closing down her phone and shaking her head at Riven. "You could have at least let them pair up with their boyfriends. They get to spend so little time with each other; it seems unfair to separate them."

"This is a mission, not a date."

"I think we're all mature enough to go on missions and not make out with our partners. After all, I haven't jumped you yet; then again, I'm more likely to kiss a spear-tongued toad."

He gave her a cool, pointed look that made her squirm uneasily. Sometimes she got the idea that he could see exactly what was going through her mind. He seemed to very easily notice how she had liked him way back when she'd first come to Alfea. But, that was only because he wasn't like the other guys she'd met; the ones who stuttered and gushed over how pretty all the fairies were. It wasn't as if that was bad but it was, for lack of a better word, annoying. She didn't need to be told she was pretty; she didn't really care much about her looks. She would much rather be respected for her music or her ability to defend herself. She was a modern fairy and pretty gowns just didn't speak for her.

"Get your head in the game, Fairy."

"Musa, my name is Musa." She muttered under her breath as she eased her foot into the sludgy stream, grimacing at the feeling of mud soaking into her socks and shoes. She wasn't sure if she felt it, so much as imagined she'd felt it that was the problem with spells. She knew in the end, she'd walk out and the mud and water would stream off her and she'd be as clean as she was when she picked the outfit from the closet back in her room but still... that didn't remove the ick-factor. Nevertheless, she wasn't going to complain or squirm because that would just give Riven more ammo to use against her and in turn, all of fairy kind. He could be such a jerk sometimes.

Stepping back onto dry land again, she stood for a moment to let the mud slide away from her skin before she ventured forward, tilting her head back to look at the sky. Dark clouds were gathering overhead but she didn't think there was any rain due. Then again, since she wasn't Flora, she couldn't really listen to nature. However, if there were thunder, she'd notice it eventually.

She walked forward and straight into Riven who'd suddenly stopped. With a scowl, she peeked over his shoulder and bit her lip. Ah, the fork in the path. One road led to a dead end, the other to the heart of the Black Mud Swamp. The only problem was that to get to the heart, you had to walk through the forest of Carnivorous plants that thrived on Silence. Personally, Musa hated them and she was betting that Riven didn't exactly have warm fuzzies for them either. Could be the fact that they'd tried to give him a nice, hard, constricting hug, which could have potentially crushed his ribs if Flora hadn't stepped in to the rescue.

"Come on." She murmured softly, stepping quietly past him and scanning the host of _quietus carnivorous_. Flora had one in her dorm and so Musa had learnt a little about them. "Just don't make any noise and keep in the middle, they sense noise through vibrations that travel up the root to their vines which lash out to wound and captu-"

"Yeah I know about the vines."

Her lips quivered and she pressed them tightly together. It wouldn't do to laugh. The image of Riven hanging upside down wrapped up tightly in vines was an image burned permanently in her mind. Highlight of her year, she thought covering her smile with a hand.

"Just follow me and-"

A sharp slap echoed through the swamp and Musa whipped round to catch Riven removing a hand from his neck, making a face at the mess on his fingers.

"What? There was a bug."

She shook her head with a quiet sigh. Her attention returned to the plants and her brow furrowed, already the nearest one was quivering from the sound vibrations of Riven's action. Idiot. After everything she had told him he still didn't listen. Having snuck through this maze with Bloom and the other girls, she knew how hard the task was. It required a lot of dexterity and trust. Something she and Riven certainly didn't have in abundance. Technically, she reminded herself, she could just fly over the plants to avoid the vines completely and leave Riven to deal with them himself... but he'd probably just hack the plants to pieces and Flora would kill him. After all, the plants were rare and near extinction and she wasn't the sort of person who abandoned a comrade -that was what Riven did.

A slight movement caught her eye and she tilted her head, squinting to zero in on what was bugging her. Her hand reached back automatically and grabbed for Riven's sleeve. Their fingers brushed accidentally and she bit back her initial urge to flinch at the touch and instead concentrated on her problem.

"What?" Riven whispered, his breath tickling her ear as he leaned close.

She glowered over her shoulder at him. Hadn't he ever heard of personal space? He motioned to the plants and arched a brow in that smug, arrogant manner of his. Her glower intensified but it turned inward. Why was she just so hyper-aware of him today?

"Those plants at the other side are shaking."

"So?"

She turned and swallowed hard, still unused to his body being so closely pressed to hers and yet still far enough away to be proper. "They shake when they feel vibrations. They can't feel us, so..."

"You think something came through here."

"I could be wrong, but Professor Paladium told us that no creatures in the black mud swamp come through here. Well apart from those giant flies, that could have caused one of them to shake and shiver but not three of them. They don't make enough noise."

"Why do no other creatures come through?"

"Self preservation, I guess. Most of the other animals would be easy pickings to the plants. Flies can sometimes get in and out without much trouble, if they're fast enough. You know, I could be completely wrong...except see there, that one in the middle?"

He leaned forward, his arm brushing hers as he sought to get a better look. "That's either a dead snake floating in the water or-?"

"No, it's a tendril, one's that been chopped off. See, there are a few more coming to the surface. Something's been through here Riven and it's come through with a blade."

"Good. Looks like this mission wasn't a total waste after all." With a smirk, he activated his phantom-blade and Musa scowled as once again, the nearest plant began to shiver.

"Put that out!" She whispered harshly, wrapping her fingers around his wrist, noting how fast his pulse was beating. Did the thought of battle excite him that much? "Look, you can't hack at these plants. They're endangered."

"They're dangerous." Riven bit out, prying her fingers from his wrist even as he deactivated his blade with a sneer.

"It's perfectly natural for it to have a defense mechanism." Wasn't that what Riven did? Snapping at anyone and anything that came too close? Wow, that was deep.

She shook her head and took a step forward, her foot sinking into the calm, murky water that nurtured the plants. Riven's hand clamped over her shoulder and she hissed out a breath, rounding on him but making sure her feet were light.

"Huh-?"

He didn't reply, just shouldered his way in front of her. If he were anyone else, such as Sky or Brandon, she might have thought he was being gallant, but she figured the truth was that if they did run in to trouble, he wanted to draw first blood and claim the glory for himself.

"After you, lord arrogance."

He glared at her coolly before venturing into the maze of plants. Even as she watched, a shiver of dread ran up her spine. She really hated this part of the forest; ever since her first time when she and the girls had decided to go and seek out the lost ogre, she'd hated it.

* * *

It took roughly twenty minutes of tense silence to navigate their way around the six-foot high plants without being snared by their thorny tendrils. When they finally broke out on the other side, Musa stretched and felt her back crack from being hunched over for so long.

Riven shot her one dark look and she rolled her eyes at him. "I'm a fairy, when I want to get somewhere, I fly. So don't give me that look."

He turned his back to her and stalked over to the entrance to the next area of the forest while Musa sent a quick look back at the maze they had just walked through, feeling her heart rate returning to normal. She always felt such immense relief after moving through the plants, having seen what the baby one that Flora was raising, was capable of doing, she just didn't want to go up against a big one. They were relentless with their vines, flailing and lashing at their prey. Though part of her knew that had they gotten into trouble, Riven would have been quick to use his sword.

"What's through here?" He suddenly asked, running his hands over the cement tube that cut through the trees providing an easier path.

"The Mud merry-go-round and then a pit of mud and then we're in the heart of the Black Mud Swamp." She told him quietly, her teeth beginning to tingle. She ran her tongue over them and felt her stomach squirm. Damn, her addiction was kicking in. She needed 

to listen to something other than Riven's voice and the chirping and buzzing of insects. Her fingers loosely trailed over the cord of her earphones and she felt Riven's eyes narrow on them. Well he didn't understand; she grew up in a world where music was as much a part of the world as the sound of people talking. She needed music the same way she needed air to breathe. It was the reason she could often be found in a quiet corner of Alfea, feeding her addiction by pumping music full blast through her earphones and directly into her ears. Even when studying for class or going somewhere she had music playing, either from her phone, PMP (**P**ortable **M**usic **P**layer), or a nearby music player.

"You can't be serious." Riven muttered. "I'm not waiting here while you get your fix, Fairy."

Ok, so maybe he understood more than she believed. "Just one song. It's a really good song."

"No."

"Do you even listen to music? Have hobbies? Read?" She demanded, slipping one ear bud into her ear and raising a brow challengingly at him. Music filtered into her auditory channel and settled over her mind like a soothing mist, flooding through her body sending a shudder of pleasure through her. Music was her lifeblood. Without it, she felt withered up and dead inside.

Riven shook his head in disbelief while almost made her smile. "I have hobbies."

"Like? All I've ever seen you do is order people around and fight people."

"Hobbies are things you like to do to relieve stress right? Well then, those are my hobbies."

Now it was her turn to shake her head in disbelief. "Right. You're unbelievably dull as a person."

"You're not exactly a sparking personality either." He snapped back, turning on his heel and striding into the concrete tunnel.

She scowled, fisting her hands and letting her magic flow to the tips of her fingers, causing them to tingle incessantly. Should she be attacked, she would be ready for it and then Riven wouldn't be able to say anything to her. She followed him into the concrete tunnel, admiring the glacial glow from the shimmering blue crystals that grew out from the concrete and leant their light to illuminate the path. She could see why Flora was so enamored by Nature. There were some lovely things and then some not, she muttered as she watched Riven's blade flare as a spider scuttled forward spitting its silken web at them.

As Riven darted to the left, Musa sidled to the right hands raised in defense.

"I hate bugs." She grumbled as the Spider slowed its approach and looked between them with its eerie eyes. What was life like looking through that many eyes, she wondered.

"I'll draw-"

"I'll draw its attention, you attack it from behind. A sword is going to do more damage to this creature than a light orb, trust me." She added emphatically. She knew. She'd fought them before. Light orbs always bounced off them and their vulnerable point was on their stomach, and getting them onto their backs wasn't exactly easy. "Try to get its stomach. It's not as protected." She snapped moving to her left and instantly the spider made its decision and raced for her, its bended legs eating up the ground fast. She back flipped a few times to get away from it and conjured a few light orbs when she was back on her feet, throwing them into its face to disorientate it. Riven was on it in an instant, leaping up and driving his phantom blade down through the hard exoskeleton and into the fleshy thorax causing the beast to scream out in furious agony. Musa grimaced and looked away. Ooh, not a pretty way to die.

As the spider crumpled to the ground, Musa plucked her ear bud from her ear and looped it around her neck. Maybe keeping her ears open would be a better idea. She ran a hand over one her left pigtail and fingered it idly as Riven checked the body of the spider.

"Should we get rid of the body or something?"

The Specialist shook his head. "The other animals will eat it."

"That's disgusting." She muttered as she gave the body a wide berth and continued down the bay, towards the circling whirlpool of mud or what she liked call the Mud merry-go-round. "So far there haven't been any signs of anything suspicious." She pointed out.

"We're not in the heart of the Swamp yet. If I were hiding out, the heart would be where I'd figure most would go. It's quiet and there's plenty of cover, food, shelter and clean fresh water... somewhere. Though I'd have chosen the valley of the luminaire plants, it would provide a great disguise if you were to set up a fire and with two exits, and plenty of trees to prevent a sky attack, it's probably the safest place in the swamp."

Personally, Musa agreed with him. She liked that clearing filled with deep red flowers that unfurled and sent glowing ember-like sparks into the air. It was warm, pretty, and full of light. The heart of the Black mud swamp was black, dreary, and dead. "For someone normal but we're hunting the Trix. They'd like the heart; it's cold and dark, just like them."

"It's secluded, not many people venture in there because of that distinctive feeling," He rolled his broad shoulders as if he could feel the icy fingers of death creeping over them. She watched fascinated by the muscles that rippled along his chest and shivered too, as she quickly looked away into the murky depths of the slime before her. It made sucking and popping noises as the pieces of rock floating upon it sunk and rose unpredictably.

"So if the Trix are hiding in Magix, it's probably a safe bet that they'd be here."

Riven nodded silently, studying the forest of trees before him. "It's familiar to them and it's the closest place to Alfea. While the bitches are probably powerless, Icy would still want to be close enough to the school in case she gets a chance to attack Bloom again. She's fixated on the Dragon Fire."

Musa stared at him, stunned by his insight. She was actually somewhat proud of him. Then she smiled and shook her head. Like he'd care what she thought about him. "Icy needs to get a life. She couldn't beat Bloom before; she'll never be able to now. Bloom's only just coming to terms with the Dragon Fire and she's learning each and every day. Icy's had years to come to grips with her powers and she still couldn't take Bloom down."

"Icy was stupid. She showed no strategy in the final battle." He stated, waving his sword before him idly.

"What do mean?"

"You can't fight fire with Ice. It's idiotic to even think you can. Power is one thing, but the elements are something completely different. Then, she sent Stormy up against you and Flora? And Darcy against Stella? Was she high at the time?"

"Again, what do you mean? That was a tough battle."

Riven waved off her indignation. "Only because they've got more experience and are willing to play dirty and you were all tired due to defending Alfea for days straight. In a fair fight, you would have knocked them out of the sky easily."

Musa still didn't get what he was saying. All she could remember was the terrifying wind and dodging lightning; oh and how dark it was. It had been one of the scariest moments of her life. Couple that with not having a clue about where Bloom had been or how she was doing. Yeah it had been terrifying but now Riven was acting as though the battle had been tougher than it was supposed to be.

Riven sighed heavily as though it were too troublesome to even give an explanation. "Look, you're a music fairy right. You can do all that stuff with sound waves, right?"

He knew what she could do; it wasn't as if he hadn't seen her fight before. "Right."

"And sound waves travel through the air, right?"

"Yes." Would he stop treating her like a child?!

"So theoretically, it's not beyond the realms of possibility that by manipulating sound waves you could manipulate the air around you."

"I guess... I've never really thought about it."

"Well sound waves travel through air so if you could manipulate them it would be, I imagine, somewhat like manipulating the air but don't quote me on that. I don't exactly understand your powers. But if that were the case, which I think it is," Arrogant, he was so arrogant, "then you should have been able to divert Stormy's air tunnels by counter spinning them, even directing them back at her."

"What about her lightning, smart ass?" She demanded, cocking her hip, even as her mind whirled with the possibilities. It really was something she should take into consideration, maybe even ask Professor Whizgiz.

"Flora is a flower fairy, right? I've seen her use her vines. Vines are part of the earth. Earth neutralizes lighting." Now his tone was being insulting. "All Flora needed to do was set up vines from the ground to act as conductors and you guys would have been fine. In fact, the vines would have helped break up the strong winds. I don't know why none of you thought of that. And as for Darcy versus Stella, Stella wins hands down. She's got a staff that produces light, Darcy has nothing against that."

"Except that she could distort time and dimensions." Musa said softly but she was beginning to see the truth behind his words. They hadn't approached that battle logically at all. In fact, it was insane that they were even fighting the Trix when there were plenty of more experienced fairies there. She palmed her forehead and groaned. "We were so _stupid_!"

Riven grinned. "Sure you were. You're fairies."

"Riven, there's a nice muddy pond behind you and you think I can manipulate the air... I'd watch what you say right now."

He shrugged carelessly. "It's over now anyway. Just think in future."

"So what should Tecna have been doing at the time?"

"What she usually does. Checking the stats and providing support. She might have been able to manipulate the electricity but on that I'm not too certain."

"You've really given this a lot of thought haven't you?"

"A good strategist always reviews battles in preparation for the next one."

"You really take this stuff seriously, don't you?" When he pinned her with that inscrutable look, her heart leapt startlingly and she bit her lip hard. Sucking in a deep breath, she let it out slowly. "I mean, you take it more seriously than Sky or Brandon."

He snorted derisively. "Of course. I don't have a kingdom to run back to or a nice cushy job as a knight in my best friends' castle."

"Wouldn't Sky want you with him? Sure you two fight but, you always seem like you get along."

"Sky's my biggest rival."

"So, that's pretty much the guy way of saying best friend."

"I'd consider myself closer to Brandon actually or even Helia. He may be a pansy with all that poetry crap but he's easy to be around, he doesn't pester me about feelings and all that."

"Who asks you about feelings?"

"Brandon, wouldn't you know." Riven smirked wryly. "He spends too much time with his girlfriend."

"Not according to Stella." Musa quipped with a half smile. "So-"

"We should move on." Riven cut her off, turning his attention to the muddy whirlpool, ignoring her furious stance. "I'll go first. If I have trouble, you can fly over."

Then with deft movements, Musa watched as he skipped and hopped over the circling pieces of rock with excellent timing and grace. He reached one of the middle two that never sunk, and he turned to her with a salute before back flipping onto another rock without looking and landing in a defensive crouch. Rising to a standing position as the rock continued to circle, he gave her a roguish bow.

"Stop showing off!" She yelled, but still a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She had to admit, he might have been a jerk but he had a certain _something_.

Another leap backwards into the air coupled with a midair twist and he aced his landing on the other side of the pool. "Come along, Princess."

"I'm not a princess." She called back, studying the whirling pieces of rock. The two outer rings, while large, constantly seemed to take turns sinking beneath the surface only to remerge a minute or so later in another spot. Only the two in the inner circle never submerged.

Oh, she was never going to be able to do this to the same extent as Riven. She could manage the odd flip here and there but she'd probably mess up her landing and end up waist deep in the thick gooey muck. The heck she was doing that in front of Riven, but still... after that challenge could she really back out?

"Sometime today."

She glared at him then focused on the task ahead of her. If something did go wrong, she could probably change into her winx form in time and just fly over but still, she hated the idea that she had to rely on her winx form to do things he could do without extra help. There was no way she was giving him another reason to look down upon fairies.

"Man, this would be so much easier with Brandon or Sky." She whined under her breath. "Ok, let's do this Musa."

Taking a deep breath, she leapt onto the nearest rotating platform standing absolutely still as it circled around and when she felt that suction beneath her, she skipped over to the next one, pirouetting and easily skipping onto the centre ring of platforms. Safe for the moment, she began to study the rocks spinning lazily around her. Somewhere in the distance, a spear-tongued toad croaked mournfully.

"You're going to at least try something cool, aren't you? At least to uphold your 'fairy honor', right?"

Could he be anymore smug? She wondered, her lips firming and her eyes narrowing. She'd show him. She was a fairy, fairies kicked Specialist butt. But what could she do? She'd taken the odd class of gymnastics when she had been younger but more often than not, she had wandered off on her own to listen to music and write some stuff. Sports just hadn't been that big of an interest to her. If Aisha were here, she'd be able to show him something really cool. As it was… there wasn't enough room to have a run up or anything.

She could do loads of moves in the air, but that would be cheating and resorting to her winx, two things she wouldn't permit herself to do.

"Why am I even rising to his bait? We're supposed to be on a recognizance mission, not playing a game of 'who's better'." She mumbled to herself: then she slowly walked to the edge of her platform on the tips of her toes, using them to give herself a boost as she threw herself into a back flip. Even as she moved through the air, she knew she wouldn't get the landing right. She was too tense and the distance was too tight. Growling, because she knew she had failed, she summoned her winx and with a burst of light, the power inside her rolled over her body and exploded outwards in a flash of light. It dispersed in an instant and left her hovering mid air.

With a disgusted sneer, she dropped down gently on to the other shore beside Riven. She didn't look at him, keeping her gaze firmly on the path before her because she didn't want to see his smug look but after a moment, when he continued to remain silent, she turned her head. And frowned. Why was he staring at her like that?! She shifted uncomfortably, feeling the inexplicable urge to just detransform back into her Alfea uniform once more. She suddenly felt woefully underdressed and uncomfortably naked in front of him and her fingers itched to tug her skirt a little lower at the look in his eyes. They were suddenly so… hot. And dark and, was he angry because she transformed?!

Her back stiffened as she bristled and squared up to him. "Look, I wasn't going to land properly. Would you rather I fell and broke my ankle? How would that have helped our mission, huh? I made an educated decision; I'm sorry I couldn't play by your rules. I'm just a weak, little-"

"What are you wearing?!" The absolute revulsion in his tone scalded her.

"My winx, surely you've seen it all before. We go into our winx form, get wings and a power boost. It's a fairy thing, I'm sure you'd understand!" She snarled, poking him in the chest. He was such a jerk. Besides, she happened to think she looked cute in this uniform!

"Where's the rest of it?!"

Her expression black, she lowered her gaze to her outfit before lifting her almost black eyes to glower at him. "It's all there."

"You didn't wear that in the final battle."

"This is my Enchantix, moron!"

"Your what?" He stepped back and ran his eyes down her again with an expression of complete exasperation mixed with something else. Then he scowled. "Change back!"

"No, we're almost at the heart. It would be a waste of power to change back again."

"Who cares? You won't need that form."

"Riven, that's just stupid. I was going to use my winx form in there anyway. You never know what surprises could be in there and it's better to be in winx form beforehand. Otherwise I might not get a chance to change." She shook her head and spun away from him with every intention of just marching in there herself. She had no idea what his problem was. One minute she was actually thinking that maybe, just maybe, he might not be such a bad guy and then he went and ruined it.

Something heavy and warm landed on her shoulders and she almost jumped out of her skin before she realized that it was… Riven's cloak? "What's this for?"

"You look cold."

"I'm not cold." The swamp was quite humid, which was natural for a swamp. She frowned at his profile and shrugged off his cloak. "Take it. I don't need it."

"Wear it!"

"I'm not wearing it. I'll trip over it. You're too tall."

"Maybe you're too small."

She palmed her forehead once more. This was stupid. This was such a stupid, stupid fight so why was she indulging in it. "Fine, it can stay here then." She stated, dangling the cloak from her fingertips as she held it out from her body over a small muddy puddle.

Riven seethed and ripped it from her grasp. "You're so annoying." He hissed, sweeping it over his shoulders and fixing it tightly to the magenta gem on the left of his chest.

She dismissed his comment with a wave of her hand. Yeah, yeah, she'd heard it all before.

"You stand out like a sore thumb." Riven pointed out.

She frowned; then glanced over her shoulders with a grimace. Her wings were quite… shimmery. All that silver dusting on the edges and the small drops that caught the light from the tips of each segment of the wings. Not to mention how colorful her outfit was, a mix of pinks and yellows, which was quite the change from the red, she had been used to. On saying that, she did like the new version of her outfit. It was more feminine and since she so rarely got to indulge that side of herself; the side that said 'hey I'm a kick ass, tomboy but I can still look pretty'. However, the wispy bits were kind of annoying. She'd tried taking the scissors to them but they'd only grown back the next time she transformed, much to Aisha's amusement. But what did Aisha have to laugh about; at least _her_ hair didn't change color!

Maybe it was a little too short and it definitely bared more skin than she was completely comfortable with, especially going up against enemies or Amaryl, she was always afraid she'd fall out of the top which was ironic considering she was hardly the most endowed of the fairies.

"Why's your hair longer?"

She twisted her head and caught glimpses of the long strands of violet tendrils cascading down past her shoulders. She'd started growing out her hair over the summer since her first year in Alfea and while it was certainly longer –reaching just above her elbow- it was nothing compared to her transformed length, which almost kissed her knees. The first time she had transformed, she had almost scared herself to death when her hair had tickled her legs.

"I guess it's a fairy thing; it's part of our charm to look pretty."

"And long hair equals prettiness?!" Riven scoffed before muttering something under her breath that she didn't quite catch.

She felt a great desire to hit him for that comment. Just because she wasn't as vain as Stella or some of the other fairies didn't mean it didn't hurt when he insulted her looks. She was well aware that she could never be as beautiful as Stella or Flora or even Aisha, but that didn't mean that she didn't shouldn't still be considered pretty in her own way.

She folded her arms and began to follow the path winding around a cluster of deadened trees, senses alert for any kind of predator that may happen upon them.

Up ahead of her, the light turned dark and the trees became denser, blocking out the light with their deadened boughs. The heart of the black mud swamp, she mused, which was less swampy than the rest of the swamp, surprisingly enough. She turned to Riven as the approached the sudden drop in the path.

"You go first; if you get in trouble I'll help you."

He quirked a brow, then nodded silently before approaching the pit and staring down into the thick sludgy substance beneath him. "This log steady?" He wondered, pushing at it with the toe of his boot.

"It won't be if you keep pushing it." She muttered as she stepped over to him. "If you want, I can hold it."

"If you say it's steady then I'll believe you." He muttered, probably not wanting to suffer the indignity of having a fairy help him. Why did he even ask her to tag along with him? He hadn't even asked her to use her powers yet. She was nothing but dead weight on this mission.

"Gee, I'm chuffed." She murmured, moving back so he could take his first step onto the log. He paused for a moment to gain his balance and work out whether she'd been telling the truth or not. Once he was half way over, she took to the skies.

"Alright," he stated jumping off the log and turning, "Come- gah! Don't do that! That's why I hate flying people!"

She clasped her hands innocently behind her and tried to repress a smile. Who would have thought that Riven could be so jumpy? She'd remember that for the next time he annoyed her, just that expression when he spun and found her standing there, priceless.

"Well get used to it. Us fairies, we like to fly. So much easier to get around and we don't crash half as much as you specialists." She chuckled to herself and skipped on ahead, suddenly feeling curiously lighthearted but that feeling melted away under the shiver of dread that passed over her as she saw what was up ahead. The heart of Black Mud Swamp, the heart of decay and endless darkness. She'd read that somewhere in the Alfea library.

"I didn't crash." Riven muttered before stumbling to a stop beside her. "Man, I really hate this place."

Musa nodded her head quickly but didn't say anything. Her mouth was dry and she felt so unbelievably cold. It rather made her wish she'd accepted Riven's cloak.

"Stop acting so scared, Muse, if anything's in there, we can handle it."

She looked at him sharply. _Muse_? What was with this boy? Anything to not say her name, she mentally groaned. Although, she supposed he was trying to be comforting, in his own special way.

They stepped through the awning that provided the gateway into the centre of the swamp, a cold, desolate area filled with numerous paths and very little undergrowth. There was food there, if you knew where to look for it but she never really ventured in here unless she really had to. Like that time they had been hunting the ogre. She hadn't really been in there since.

"Come on." Riven growled, striding down to the end of the path where it broke into two routes and looked both ways. "Left or Right?"

"Right."

"You sure?"

"No. But left is evil," when he narrowed his eyes at her, she sighed. "It's a home thing."

"Well if we're looking for the _Trix_ then we should go left."

She motioned for him to lead while she pondered over the way he spat out the Trix, almost as though the idea of them left a foul taste in his mouth. Did he truly despise them? And if so, why? What had they done to him personally that made him so angry towards them? Was it what happened between him and Darcy? Was he... bitter about their break up? The idea left an acrid taste in her own mouth.

She shook her head quickly. It was none of her business if he liked Darcy, just as long as he didn't join the dark side again and put them all in danger; then he could do what he wanted.

* * *

**A.N.** Alright so this was supposed to be a one-shot but it was looking kind of long, so I decided to break it into two parts. And before anyone comes running to me saying that Musa didn't have the enchantix in the second season, I know. I know she got it in the third season helping the princess of Melody/Harmonic Nebula. Personally, I think Musa looks much prettier in the 3 season and her enchantix is very cute so I wanted to use that and moreover, I wanted to write Riven's response to it. I mean look at the difference, she looks almost like a different person. So she got it in this story in her second year. The Charmix didn't seem like such a big deal to me anyway.

I also added a few things in from the game but you all know that anyway and I mentioned a few things you might remember from Unattainable. In case, you hadn't realized, I _love_ the Black Mud Swamp. I also hate those 6ft Quietus Carnivorous plants, they scare the crap out of me and the games aimed at 3 year olds upwards. That's kind of the reason I bought it... I can't beat games that are for 12 upwards. I'm a dreadful gamer.

In case anyone's wondering what this story is supposed to be about... it's about character development between Riven and Musa where they actually have a conversation, discover insights into each other and have a battle. I just felt their characters were kind of underdeveloped in the series and were I to write for it, I'd do things a little different... which is possibly why I just write fanfiction. Lol.

**Please review** and I should have the second piece updated soon as well as a piece for the Memory Box.


	2. Part Two

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Winx Club or anything associated with it.

* * *

Black Mud Swamp

Part Two

* * *

Fifteen minutes of walking in what seemed like circles, was wearing on Musa's nerves. It didn't seem as though they were going anywhere or gaining any ground and after having had to stun two more Dart bugs and one Spear-tongued toad, things didn't seem to be looking up. Even Riven's shoulders had dropped significantly, her legs were cold, and the soles of her feet were killing her. She missed her platform boots. Sure they were heavy but they were easy to walk in and she liked stomping around in them; they gave her attitude. Suddenly her new outfit just made her seem more delicate and beside Riven, she felt fragile and small. It didn't help that the guy's chest was _incredible_ (even Stella had said so: _"It's almost as big as his ego."_) and that he towered over her measly frame.

"If they came through here recently, there's no sign of them," Riven muttered from his position kneeling in the centre of one of the paths that wound around the edge of the forest's heart.

Musa sighed heavily as she scanned the darkness before them. Large trees stood like harsh silhouettes against the shadows, like figures standing ever so still until their victims ventured forward and then they'd pounce. She shivered. Why did this feel like a trap to her? "Then maybe we were wrong." Was it childish that she wanted to get away from here? It certainly wasn't very brave at any rate.

Riven blew out a breath, rising to his feet, a knee popping along the way making him hiss through clenched teeth. "They must have come through here though. Where else would they have gone?"

She slumped back against a tree and wrinkled her nose at the smell of decay. It had never smelt this bad. The very heart was like a black abyss of death, nothing grew there in comparison to the rest of the swamp but the edge of the heart was usually filled with some of the most beautiful plants that required little to no sunshine, like Dark Decay, a plant that professor Palladium was so enamoured with. If ingested it could be lethal but it made a most delicious tea if it was boiled and strained and with only a few drops added to hot water. There were a few roots as well that were considered to be delicacies in certain restaurants and _Shrums_ and truffles mixed with edible leafs could create amazing salads.

She knew them all, at least in theory, since Alfea had never required its fairies to go on survival training weeks but when she had heard that the boys did one, she figured it might not be such a bad idea to look up what she could live on if she were ever stranded. So far she could live quite comfortably in the Black Mud Swamp but she had plans to look up other places as soon as she had some free time.

"Maybe we missed something on the other side," He cursed under his breath and whirled round towards the exit to the swamp.

Musa lifted her eyes to the sky with a shake of her head only to freeze. She caught Riven's sleeve in a tight grip as he made to pass, her heart thumping wildly in her chest as she tried to tear her eyes from the sight before her.

"Don't move," She whispered.

"What is it?" He demanded, eyes scanning the tree boughs frantically. When he tried to release his arm she read his attentions. She switched her grip and entangled her fingers with his, squeezing tighter despite the jolt of electricity that zapped through her veins. Her skin prickled from his nearness but she refused to let go. "Dammit, Musa, what is it? Is it _her_?"

If it had been any other situation, she might have rolled her eyes. One track mind, she mused snidely but kept her eyes locked on the creatures above them. Succubae bats. They were creatures –like the ice crabs of Domino- that could cause a fairy a big problem. Though they weren't nearly as dangerous as the crabs, they were dangerous in their own right due to their partiality to magic. She'd never seen any close up before since their natural habitats were in the crystal caverns of Diamontia, where they fed off the energy the crystals gave off until they were nothing but rocks. They caused the crystal farmers big problems, so they were usually killed off before they could nest, but since they were becoming endangered, there had been laws placed on them to protect them.

However, two years ago a few had entered a town house of a fairy family, and while the family slept, the bats had come into the house and had sucked the magical energy of the family, killing the youngest child. There had been a big uproar about the beasts but since they were endangered, there could be nothing done about them. All houses and residential units had been provided with sonar alarms to deter the bats from roosting in their attics and belfries.

"Muse?" She shivered as Riven leaned closer to her, his lips at her ear. "Come on, Muse, what's wrong with you?"

"Bats." She whispered. "Succubae bats."

He frowned and drew back. "Bats? Oh don't tell me you're afraid of flying mice."

"Shut up Riven!" She snapped quietly, slapping her hand over his mouth trying to ignore the heat that infused her. "Those are dangerous. Check out the ears and the size of them, and their mouths, those nozzle things."

He glowered at her but when she met his gaze steadily he huffed, and averted his assessing gaze to the trees above them. "So, they're a little larger than usual."

"They're Succubae bats," She growled. "They feed of magical energy, like my aura and your sword and gem. If they take enough –and they will, they're agile and they feast in a hoard- they can render you useless and me dead."

"Bats?"

"Yes. Look, there are creatures in this world that are lethal to fairies. Those guys top the lists just under the crabs of Domino."

"Crabs?"

She moaned and dropped her head to his shoulder. "Don't you know anything about fairies?"

"I generally don't take out a lot of books on them. You get so much more information observing them up close."

She rolled her eyes at this attitude. "We have to get away from here. I'm surprised they haven't awoken yet. Mustn't be enough energy for their senses to detect." She blew out a soft sight of relief and keeping her gaze on the bats, she began to lead Riven out from under them.

"Could they really kill you?" He asked quietly, the solid warmth of him at her back was strangely reassuring.

"Yes. They like magical beings."

"What about the Trix? Surely they wouldn't stay here with those bats on the loose." He mused, as he moved up beside her, taking a quick look over his shoulder too just before they rounded the corner.

"They don't generally like witch magic," At his curious look, she elaborated. "Witches use dark magic and we, fairies, use white magic. As a Specialist you use crystal magic, crystals from Diamontia are natural and therefore considered to be pure magic. Out of all the magic, crystal magic is the most versatile because it can be used for any purpose. Like your weapon, you can attack anything with it and the crystal won't say boo.

"As a fairy, I use white magic. That's why I'm a fairy and not a witch. By using white magic, I have limits. Theoretically, I can heal and I can grant wishes –but I haven't learnt that. That's third level magic and I'm only second level. But I can use attacks to defend myself but to attack an innocent, randomly would yield terrible results. White magic used for evil is weak and pitiful. Dark magic can be used for good but again, yields rather weak results because generally, the darker your emotions, the stronger your dark magic. That's why dark magic users can wield elements like lightning. Lightning is the most chaotic of elements and requires chaotic emotions."

"So the bats don't like dark magic?"

"No, but this is only speculation. A few scientists conducted experiments on the bats and the bats showed a preferment to white magic and more so crystal magic. The purer the better; to them dark magic tastes bitter, I presume. Though you'll just have to take my word for it since I've never asked one."

He snorted. "I'm sure. But if they had no other food source...?"

"It's a possibility, I guess." Her brow furrowed as something occurred to her. "Succubae bats are native to Diamontia, so I don't get why they're here. They like dark, cool places and granted this is dark and cool to them, but like you said, there's no other food source. Unless... unless someone's feeding them and –" She broke off, her breath coming in short gasps. "The Trix, they must have known we'd come searching for them eventually but they certainly wouldn't assume we'd come in pairs. They were expecting a bigger group and the bats would wake up and feed on us before we could destroy them.

"And if we destroyed them, we'd be up against the council for an inquiry into all the deaths, including the endangered bats." At Riven's blank look, she elaborated, "Diamontia's royal family have elected the bats as their symbol because they're unique to the planet."

He barked out a soft laugh. "Of course they do. I hate royals." Then his eyes slanted to her. "Except you're not one?"

"No, not anymore. My father abdicated the throne over the summer, thankfully."

"What, didn't you like being a princess?"

"Wearing skirts and heels and being attended to by handsome princes wanting my hand in marriage? No thanks. Give me music and I'm happy but Melody isn't a monarchy." She flexed her fingers and almost yelped when she realized her hand was still entwined with his. Flushing, she quickly extracted her hand and quickly averted her gaze to the side, pretending to study the dead foliage around them, hoping he wasn't going to say anything.

"How could you be a princess if it's not a Monarchy?" He asked.

She took the question with relief. At least he wasn't going to comment on her hand holding. Ugh, what was she thinking? She had the sudden urge to wipe her hand on her skirt. She sighed softly. "Well, Melody, where I'm from, isn't a Monarchy as such, but their ruler _is_ known as a King. It dates back to historical reasons when there was a royal family, but mostly the 'King' is a figurehead now and is voted in by the people due to their musical talents. A musical fairy, such as myself, draws power from music and emotion, so therefore the more popular a singer, the more power he or she can gain should they need it. My mother, well she was possibly the most talented singer on Melody. It was natural that she would be Queen and father's a gifted musician and song writer. He made a good king and when... well after, my father continued to rule on as King.

"He had this amazing insight to be able to appeal over a wide range of genres and just creates _that_ tune that people can't stop singing." She ducked her head for a moment, thinking of her father and of her mother; her amazingly talented and beautiful mother. "But he's given up that talent now and so he was voted out of his position during the summer."

"But why? If he's so good, why did he do that?"

She bit her lip, wondering if she should tell him. It wasn't that she had a problem telling people that her mother was dead. It was a fact, and it helped when people knew because then she could avoid those awkward moments around parent days and other times when mothers came up in conversation. Then again, there were times when people knowing led to their own awkward moments. It wasn't exactly a win-win situation.

Still, this was Riven, someone she didn't necessarily trust but... part of her felt he might understand. She'd probably regret this, but: "My mother died when I was a child. My father has never been quite the same. He can't think of music without thinking of her – she died on the stage you see, while singing at a concert – and so he banned music from our home. The Council waited for as long as possible thinking that he'd move on and start creating again but he never did, and so they had to remove him from the post. I think dad wanted out anyway, but politics is complicated and what you want isn't always what you get."

"And he's fine with your...powers?"

She rubbed her brow sheepishly. "Dad doesn't really like the idea of me being in Alfea. He keeps threatening to pull me out but it was my mother's wish that I never be defenceless, that I use my abilities. Besides, I don't want to be a professional singer – I've been there, I've done that – and I don't want to be in politics, nor do I want to be a godmother. I want to use my abilities to protect people. At least I think I do. Sometimes this saving the world business can be a little overwhelming."

"Especially if you and the Jinx Club are running from killer bats."

She marched forward before stopping and turning to face him. "Stop calling us the Jinx Club."

"Why? I think it's oddly apt. You six tend to attract any trouble in this stupid realm."

"You keep calling us the Jinx Club and I'll be forced to call you the Special-misfits."

He considered that for a while and she was surprised to see a glimmer of amusement in his purple eyes. "Not bad, Muse, would be better with one syllable."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not arguing with you on who has the better nickname for our teams but misfits suits your group so well." She muttered as she stomped down the path. Boys were so annoying. Aisha was right. Maybe she'd start dating women instead... or girly guys like Helia, though with his chest, that wasn't exactly a correct assessment. No, she couldn't date girls. She happened to like guys, but why did she have to like guys with caustic personalities and hot-headed temperaments. Granted, he had been awfully well behaved today in comparison to normal. Maybe he was nicer on his own; maybe he put on an ego when he was around the others. Or, heaven forbid, maybe he was trying to show off to the other girls and since it was just her, he couldn't be bothered.

Ugh, she hated these types of thoughts but on the bright side, the experience would offer her great inspiration for her lyrics. She hadn't worked on a song for a while, feeling too lazy during the days and since the girls usually conjured something to do, she found her free time gone.

"Where's the heart?" She murmured under her breath as she looked around at the maze of path ways crisscrossing in front of her. By rights, if she entered and went straight they should have reached the middle but this was like a labyrinth and all they seemed to do was chase around the edge. Would it be smart for the Trix to hide there? It was awfully open and if they were surrounded, it would be asking for trouble but with the lack of trees, they could easily soar up and out of the Black Mud Swamp. And they had already set up a trap in the form of the bats.

She closed her eyes to remember what the heart had been like the last time she and the girls had been there during their battle with the ogre. She remembered that it was dark, and not just dark but murky, she had barely been able to see her hand in front of her face. Only the bright light of their attacks had illuminated the target and the other girls. She remembered that she couldn't go too far to the edge because of the trees and their spindly branches which seemed to reach out to touch her. Except for one spot... that one spot where? What was at that one spot?

"There's a cliff." She suddenly blurted out, turning to Riven and stumbling back as she caught how close he was. He'd obviously been about to touch her shoulder to catch her attention but if she hadn't noticed him, then anyone could have snuck up on her. He stared at her, dropping his hand.

"A cliff?"

"More of a bank actually, it overlooks the clearing. If we can get up there, there're bushes we can use for coverage to spy on them if the Trix are there."

"Do you know the way?"

She frowned. "Well the entrance was on one side, to my left and I was opposite Stella. I had to fly closer to the ogre to get away from the branches that were scratching my back and getting tangled in my hair, but Stella didn't have to worry about that because she was in front of the bank. She could use that to boost her up into the air when her wings got tired."

"North, West, South, East? Give me a direction I can use, Fairy."

"Be quiet Riven, 'til I think. I don't work on directions." She pressed a hand to her forehead. "I don't know. When you get to the opening, it'll be to the left so if the opening is south, then it'll be west, I think."

Riven simply shook his head. She could almost hear his thoughts of how typical females were. Maybe he should have been paired with Tecna. They would get along better. Both so logical. Or maybe someone with more patience and a sense for nature like Flora. Who were the other girls paired with?

"Maybe we should call the others."

"And have them all arrive with those bats?"

"No, they could teleport to these coordinates."

"Better to have some actual proof first." He pointed out; again so logically it was hard to actually argue with him but she wanted to, she really wanted to because staying here with just him, was becoming such a pain in the ass. It was obvious he didn't think too much about her.

"Fine, I suppose it's about time I used my powers."

"What?"

"The reason I'm here, Riven, though I don't think I'll be able to pick up much. Too much interference from the trees and... Actually scratch that, those bats will wake up if I do that. Sonar is their weakness-"

"So if they attack, I'll leave it to you? I knew there was a reason I picked you."

She should have swung for him. It would serve him right. Or maybe a nice disco light attack on his precious hair. What kind of comment was that to make? Granted, if she had warning about the arrival of the bats, she probably could do a Sonar scream attack on them to dissuade them but if they did a sneak attack, they'd have her sucked dry before she could open her mouth.

"But still, Riven, we were told to contact Faragonda if we had any suspicions."

He made a face as he looked at her. "First of all, if we call for backup, we call the others. This should be our fight. They targeted us."

Personally, she felt that way too, but Griselda was a total task master when her rules weren't followed and Musa hated disappointing Faragonda. Her disapproval always weighed the heaviest and since she was like everyone's favorite grandmother, no one broke the rules for fear of upsetting her. Of course, the woman never said it straight out but you could tell by her tone of voice when she was less than pleased with you. Having sat in her office more than enough times with her friends, Musa knew well the price of failing Faragonda.

Riven studied her face and she felt herself flush under his gaze, as if he could see right through her; as if he knew what she was thinking. "Second of all, we'll check first. No point calling the Fortress of Light if it's a false alarm. It could easily just be bandits hiding out."

Then again…"Good point, we should go make sure."

His lips twitched and curved a little, and if she hadn't been looking at him at that exact moment, she probably wouldn't have noticed it or believed it possible. Riven smirked and sometimes he laughed but it was always a rather arrogant laugh, but she had never seen him smile before. It was a rather startling affect and it wasn't even a full smile. She exhaled slowly. Goodness knows how she'd handle a full smile aimed at her. She'd probably melt into a puddle. Oh man, how embarrassing.

She ducked her head so he wouldn't see the flush creeping high along her cheekbones. She took a moment to compose herself before lifting her face and studying the lines and shadows of the trees. It all looked so threatening and scary. She shuddered and folded her arms, idly rubbing her prickling skin with her hands to warm her flesh. Had it suddenly gotten colder?

"Don't tell me you're cold."

"Don't worry, I wasn't planning to." She muttered, glowering at his back. She stomped forward past him, intent on seeking out the Trix on her own. Seriously, Aisha was right. They didn't need guys. They only needed themselves and each other.

She headed down the path to the south east. "Honestly, I can't see the Trix hiding out here. Granted there's water and there's sustenance in certain areas but, this place is so dark and unwelcoming. The Trix seem too pampered to live here."

"The Trix have nowhere else to go, Muse."

She had to agree with that. Griselda had disowned them and no one in the realm of Magix would ever welcome the witches into their homes. They really had nowhere to go and no one to rely upon apart from themselves. She supposed that it had always been that way for them. Maybe that was why they resented others and their bonds because they had no other bonds but their sisterly one and sometimes you had to wonder if they even liked each other at times. From her few encounters with them, both Darcy and Icy were known to treat Stormy with disdain, and Stormy and Darcy were known to watch Icy with something akin to dissent.

She sighed heavily, her wings fluttering melancholy as she surveyed the dark depths of the path ahead. She was grateful for Riven's presence because, all of Magix knew, she did not like the idea of venturing into the heart of the swamp alone. Riven remained stoic beside her though, casually slicing any briars or vines that sought to trip them up. It was a good thing Flora wasn't here with him, she mused; the poor girl would have him wrapped up in the very vines he severed.

"You could just climb over them." She pointed out magnanimously.

He cast her a quick glance before huffing out a breath, dispersing his phantoblade. She quirked a brow, surprised that he had so easily listened to her, though maybe he was just tired. There was something about the cold dead air, that made her very muscles and limbs feel heavy and lackluster. She folded her arms to ward off the cold. It definitely had gotten colder and was that _frost_ on the branches ahead? Something certainly glittered.

"Ah, Muse, I think I might have found some proof."

She turned to follow Riven's gaze and her eyes went wide. "Crystals!" She gasped and darted forward, staring at the heap of shiny, cut crystals of varying size and color. She touched one and felt it throb and pulse in time to her heartbeat, a steady hum vibrating off them. "Why are there- These are what they're feeding them." She answered her question with a soft voice. "Oh this makes me so mad! What do the Trix think they're doing? Those creatures are endangered and they cannot simply feed on crystals just for the Trix's petty traps, and where did they get this many crystals?"

She glanced over her shoulder to find Riven quietly watching her, his palm pilot in his hand. "What? Is there something there?"

"Ice caused a truck to go off the road, the driver claimed to be momentarily blinded and when he woke up after he crashed, the crystals he was transporting to a weapons lab were gone." He read off, monotone.

"Of course they were. Well this was obviously the work of the Trix. I didn't think they could sink lower but they have. They stole."

"Some would see it as a way to survive. It's not like they have any parents to turn to for money."

Something about the bitterness in his tone of voice made her look at him. Had he stolen? What were his parents like? He never really spoke of his family and she wondered what had happened in his past to make him so grim and determined. He rarely joked and when he did, it was usually hurtful, as if he was constantly trying to reaffirm his place in the world by putting others down. He had mellowed though, she could admit that. When she had first met him, apart from the striking figure he cut, he had been rude and unsociable and then he'd been put under a spell by Darcy and had become more so. Now he was… mellow suggested he was nicer and more relaxed; he wasn't. He was still as focused as ever and crass too with some of his comments, but he was more accepting of them. He had even advised her on how to take out Stormy should they have to battle ever again.

She supposed he'd always remain an enigma to her. It wasn't like she could ever ask him about his past, he would just close down and then any progress they had made today would be null and void. She wasn't willing to allow that to happen.

She sighed and got to her feet. "Just because they don't have any parents to turn to for money doesn't mean that they can be as evil as they want. They take this line that because they are descendents of those evil witches; they have a legacy to live up to. They don't. They are just as in charge of their lives as you or me. I don't condone stealing but I understand that some people don't have a choice but I won't believe that of the _Trix,_ they made their choices and they chose to be evil. They chose to steal these crystals so they could feed those bats until we came along. There's no way you can justify that to me, Riven."

He folded his arms over his chest. "I wasn't trying to justify their actions, I was merely pointing out that they probably don't see stealing as a bad thing. But you're right, they made their decisions and they did it with that cold logic that defies plain emotions."

Again she got the feeling he was talking about the spell that they'd put him under. Why had it taken so long for him to break the spell or had they broken it for him? They might have; she didn't know.

"Well whatever their intentions, we can't let them get away with it," She decided, dusting down her hands. "We'll leave these here, can't make the bats go hungry because they'll hunt us down, and we'll go search for those Trix, get proof that they're here and contact the others giving them the coordinates to teleport to."

"Whatever you say."

She sighed at his lack luster response. "Look, I know you want to go in all guns blazing but, Riven, you can't."

He aimed a cool look at her out of the corner of his eyes before he began stalking away. She followed with a feeling of foreboding residing inside her. She just knew that no matter what she said to him, he had no intention on listening. Riven was a law onto himself.

She shivered as a cold breeze ghosted over her bared skin. "It's getting colder."

Riven nodded. "There's ice on the trees."

"And the grounds harder and look at that puddle," she pointed to a small puddle of water, hardened with ice.

He nodded grimly. "We're getting closer. Get ready." He ordered, taking the hilt of his phantoblade and activating it, the purple strobe of light forming the curved blade. She frowned at it.

"Aw how cute, Special-boy and Music–girl taking a romantic walk through the forest."

Musa squeaked and whirled, her eyes darting frantically around the forest for the owner of the voice. With a curse Riven was in front of her as the lightning ripped through the sky, spearing the ground in front of them.

"The Trix!"

"You think?!" He shouted back, his voice harsh. He activated the purple shield on his arm and held it aloft. "Where are they?"

The lightning began to circle them, urging her closer to him to stop herself from being zapped. She stepped into his body, placing her hands on his back as she followed the path of the jagged lance. He stiffened in front of her, muscles tensed. "We can't stay here, we're sitting ducks."

"Right." Musa stated, before grabbing Riven under the arms and pushing up from the ground, her great butterfly wings fluttering a rapid beat.

"What are you doing? Put me down!"

"Look, I know you don't like flying but just hold on."

"To what?!"

"I hate passengers." She snapped, swooping in and out of the jagged blades of lightning striking at her from every angle. Personally, she hated fighting Stormy; the girl was psychotic and unpredictable which made for a volatile fighting style.

"Where are you going little fairy? Didn't you and your boyfriend come here to play?"

"What is their obsession with calling us a couple?!" Riven demanded, with a grimace. He suddenly slumped in her grip and she tightened her hold worriedly.

"Don't you dare faint on me, Riven. I'm not taking on the Trix single handed."

"I'm not planning on fainting, fairy." The absolute horror and revulsion in his tone almost made her laugh and probably would have if the situation wasn't so dire. Where the hell was Stormy? And where were the other two? "We need to get out of here and you need to put me down."

"We do one or the other." She called back, twirling to avoid yet another attack.

"You think you can out fly me, fairy?"

She glanced over her shoulder and glared up at the purple suited witch that had just darted out from behind a nearby tree. "I can't out fly her and I don't know where the other two are."

"Is there nothing you can do? If you drop me here, we can take her on together."

Yes, maybe they could beat her together, but what was to say that the other two wouldn't suddenly appear and outnumber them. However, if they could distract Stormy for just a moment to get away from her...

"There might be something I can do. I need to put you down."

"About time." He growled. "Here!"

She let go and he dropped nimbly to the ground, two hilts appearing in his hands as the blades flashed to life, long swords this time. She could almost guess that meant he just wanted to slice and dice everything in his path. She soared up and faced the curly haired witch, smirking maliciously at her.

"Oh what are you going to do now? Fight me? I think we know how that turned out the last time!"

"Riven, cover your ears. This is going to hurt."

Stormy hovered smugly, obviously too full of her own self importance to even take advantage of Musa's distraction as she closed her eyes and reached out to the music around her. Energy swelled within her and bright, magenta strings soared from the ground, stretching to the sky. They surrounded her, a shimmering cage of hot pink light.

"Enchantix: Harmonic Vibrations!"

She spun gently in the air, her fingers reaching out and strumming the strings. It started out with a hum before steadily growing more piercing as the waves of sonic energy arced out from it and struck the witch.

An agonized scream shattered the staid air as Stormy dropped to the ground, her hands covering her ears. More deft finger movements released the sound from the strings and Musa landed neatly.

"Let's go!"

"What was that?" he shouted at her as they raced down the narrow, winding path away from the screaming witch.

"Pain like no other." Musa muttered.

"It sounded pretty bad."

Yeah it sounded bad to him and he hadn't been subjected to the full extent of the attack, it was something she was just working on. It wasn't completed yet but she knew that even in such a weak state, the bats would have been sensitive enough to pick it up in combination with the release of white and crystal magic. They were in deep trouble now. She reached into the neck of her top, earning a bewildered look from Riven before her gloved hand retracted clutching her communicator. She speed dialled the first number on her contacts list.

"_Musa!" _Aisha's face popped up on the screen, "How's tracking with the jerk going?"

She ignored Riven's pointed look. "We're under attack. The Trix are here and somehow Stormy found us. Can you get Tecna to track our location and get here ASAP?"

"On it!"

The communicator went dead but Musa didn't worry as she followed Riven's lead, darting in and out of pathways, leaping over dead logs and carpets of twigs in their race to get away from the Trix to find somewhere safe. She didn't even have much time to admire how he could run and still make very little sound. If she couldn't see him in front of her, couldn't hear his breathing over the pounding of her heart, she might have thought herself on her own.

"Is it getting darker?"

Riven sent her a vile look. "Don't think about things like that. We need to get to ground and stay low."

She knew that. She did but that didn't mean that she wouldn't be looking for clues as to the other's whereabouts. Her feet slid out from under her and she yelped. Riven's hand closed around her wrist, yanking her into another side path. Something glittered and she strained away from him.

"Ice!"

"Back!" He hissed; turning and pulling her in the opposite direction, over a crossroads and onto yet another path. Everything was jumbled in her mind now; she wouldn't be able to tell anyone where she was.

"Keep going!"

Her lungs were burning, her legs were screaming from the hard work out he was putting her through. She felt like she couldn't breathe past the nausea churning in her stomach. A straight up fight and she was fine, but this method of hide and seek frayed her nerves.

"We shouldn't be running," Riven huffed out. "I hate running."

"I thought one of the Heroes mottos was: 'Flee and live to fight another day'?"

"It's not one of mine. We should ambush her. There's plenty of cover."

"We should wait for the others to get here. We don't know where Icy and Darcy are-"

"So we'll take out Stormy and then the other two. We can easily do it."

"Not to mention the bats."

"What about them?"

"Well..." She trailed off with a nervous laugh which instantly alerted him to what she was unwilling to say.

"Oh please tell me you didn't?"

"I didn't... exactly."

"Are they awake or not?" He demanded; his hand warm and solid around hers, slightly clammy with sweat but she didn't care. A loud screech echoed over head and Riven groaned. "Well that answers that question. Do you even think your actions through?"

She glared at his back, her feet tripping lightly over the twig strewn well worn paths. She was afraid she was going to fall; she wasn't used to this kind of physical exertion but flying was out of the question, not with this kind of dense foliage, she'd likely tear a wing. "Says the hot head who joined the Trix." She huffed out.

His shoulders stiffened but whatever words were on the tip of his tongue, he bit back and continued to navigate his way quickly along the path, his eyes ever lifting to the sky through the limbs that stretched ever higher.

They came to a wider path that ran over their own and Riven came to a standstill. Frost and icicles glittered and sparkled over the path, looking so unbelievably beautiful that she couldn't seem to catch her breath. The air was harsh and frigid so that it seared her lungs every time she tried to inhale. She clutched a fist to her chest and looked at the sight. "Wow..."

"Icy." Riven growled, his fingers tightening around the hilt of his blades.

Musa went instantly on alert. For a brief moment she had forgotten where she was, forgotten there were witches on their heels, forgotten one of those witches had an affinity with ice. She shuddered. Idiot. She shouldn't have forgotten but it was such a beautiful scene. It was like the entire path had been encrusted with tiny diamonds and jewels that sparked white fire with every shift of the light.

"It's too quiet."

She watched as Riven's breath expelled in a puff of white air before rising and disappearing into the dimming light. His footsteps as he shifted his stance seemed to crunch hollowly and sounded so loud in comparison to the deathly stillness of the forest. "I can't hear anything."

"Those charms?"

"I'm not sure. I don't think so." And she suddenly realized just how cold she suddenly felt. Enchantix form or not, she was not cut out for walking in the cold in a short skirt and stilettos.

"You cold now?" Riven asked with a smirk.

She glowered at him. Why did Riven have to be a jerk all the time? Was it so impossible for him to try, just once, to be nice and civil? All the other Specialists that she had met were perfectly amicable but Riven just had to indulge in sheer nastiness every time any one of the female race was in the general vicinity. It made her wonder what had happened to him in the past. Obviously some woman had wronged him.

"This place is too quiet. It's like a void, almost as if…" She trailed off, brow knitting in confusion.

"What?"

"As if-

"Well well, what do we have here?"

Musa froze, her breath clogging in her throat as she heard the familiar voice. Beside her Riven tensed and muttered a crude oath under his breath, his fingers sliding to the sheath at his waist.

"Ah-ah, don't even think about it, lover boy. Now the both of you turn around real slow and I'll not be tempted to blow your heads off." The stifling rise of dark energy supported Darcy's threatening words.

"See, didn't I tell you?! I told you they came this way but no-"

"Shut up Stormy." Icy bit out; her frosty blue eyes glittering as they locked onto the two of them. Beside her, Musa could feel the tension vibrating through Riven's body as he clenched his teeth to stop himself from lashing out. Part of her wanted to reach out to him, to calm him but she didn't think that would aid their cause in any way. "Where are the others?"

"They're not here, so you can forget about trying to steal Bloom's Dragon Fire." Immediately, as soon as she said the words she knew it was the wrong thing to say. Riven tensed further and Icy smiled.

"Aw, the two love birds sneaked away; how wretchedly sickening."

Musa lifted her gaze to meet Darcy's and a cruel smile lifted the corners of her mouth. "Don't tell me you're jealous, Darcy?"

The statuesque brunette titled her head and placed a hand on her cocked hip, her cold tawny eyes peering down at her from over her yellow lenses. Such a color clash, Musa thought snidely. "Why would I be? I had your boy already, remember? Let's just say, he's not as good as he makes out."

The double meaning behind the words hit Musa hard and she almost couldn't control the urge to lunge at the brunette. Skanky bitch. Her eyes shot daggers as she smiled toothily. "Sure, but you had to use a spell to get a boyfriend; now that, really speaks about your, um, charms."

The look Riven tossed her was bemused; his brow quirking before he smirked. "You don't care for second hand things, Darcy? But as I understood it, you were little more than second best compared to your sisters. Always the lackey, never the leader."

"Shut up puppy dog, mommy's talking business."

"Oh that's just sick." Musa muttered under her breath.

"Stormy, take them to the camp and tie them up. We'll let the bats have them later on."

"Let's go kiddies, before Aunty Stormy has to fry your asses." There was something to the youngest witch's tone of voice, which suggested she was just looking for an opportunity to do so.

"I'd like to see you try." Riven snarled darkly as he was poked and prodded down the winding path towards the clearing.

"Oh keep talking puppy dog and you'll get your wish. Don't know why you goodie-two-shoes can't just leave us alone. We're not harming anyone."

"Like I believe that."

"Ha, you can believe what you want because it's no skin of my nose. Personally I think the world would be better off without you." Stormy declared airily and something about her tone and her utter arrogance made Musa want to turn around and belt her hard across the face.

"You wouldn't be the only one." If Musa hadn't been walking beside him, she probably wouldn't have heard the softly spoken words. She stumbled over her own feet and got a prod in the back for her mistake. But surely Riven hadn't meant those words. Were they directed at her? She might have found him annoying and frustrating but she couldn't imagine life without him now that she knew him. It would be so flat and dull, so mundane. The idea of talking to a guy who just wanted to flatter her or charm her made her skin crawl, at least Riven challenged her mind and her beliefs.

She shook her head. She was being ridiculous. Even if Riven did mean that, he certainly wouldn't be directing the comment at her. He didn't care what she thought of him and he probably didn't even realize how some of his comments hurt her. So someone else must have made him think that. Then her mind flashed back to the confrontation in the woods. Could he still care about Darcy? If so, she felt for him. She really did. There was nothing worse than loving someone who was indifferent to you.

"And if it makes you feel better," Stormy stated; regardless of Musa's internal thoughts, or the tension that had settled around them. Musa took advantage of her distraction to slide a hand into the opening of her top, earning a panicked look from Riven. She quickly squeezed his wrist reassuringly as she slipped out her personal communicator and began to tap in the SOS signal to send to the girls. She knew they couldn't be far but it was best that they knew up front that she was in real danger and hadn't just found something or needed help with Riven. By her side, she could almost sense Riven's disapproval, but whether that was because she was taking such a risk in front of the volatile Stormy or because she wasn't letting him handle things, she couldn't be certain.

"I didn't support Darcy's little plan to make you into her pet," Stormy continued, "I mean honestly, you were nothing but a hassle and what good did you really do? And now we've got to deal with your 'grudge'" she even used finger quotes, "against her; it's pathetic."

"Green's so not your color Stormy." Musa replied glumly. Couldn't they at least get Icy as a warden? She wouldn't harp on quite as much.

"No, it's lightning purple, so if you don't watch your-"

"Stormy! Stop talking to those two and get back up here." Icy snapped from up the path and Musa began to rethink her earlier decision on Icy.

Stormy grumbled and pulling out a long piece of twine, she began to tie their hands behind their backs. "And I'll take that." She added, grabbing Riven's weapons. "Right, now sit down, backs to each other."

Musa gaped at her. "How do you propose we do that when we don't have the use of our hands?"

"…do I look like a Fairy? No. Good. I don't care how you do it, just do it."

"Musa, just lean against me, we'll get down that way." He shot Stormy a dark, threatening look. "When I get out of these bonds, you're going to wish you'd never woken up this morning. Believe me, I will make you regret tying her and me up."

Musa sighed and pressed her back against Riven's, taking some measure of courage in the fact that he was there with her, a sure, steady presence and the fact that somewhere nearby, her friends would be coming to her rescue and when they did, the Trix would get their butts kicked in their most epic battle yet.

"Yeah, yeah," Stormy waved off his threats with a smugness that promised to get her in deep trouble some time. What Musa would love to know was just how the Trix always seemed to escape their punishments.

The curly haired witch knelt before them and began to tie the twine tightly around them over and over again until Musa felt as if she was slowly being squeezed in half. Then the witch rose and with a smirk, she pressed a finger tip to the cord. Electricity ripped through it and leapt to Musa's flesh causing her to shout out in agony. Behind her Riven arced up against her with a roar while Stormy laughed loudly. In that one moment Musa hated her with every molecule of her being.

With a chuckle, she skipped off, hands clasped behind her back looking as innocent as any virginal bride. Musa gasped in a ragged breath, bent forward as much as the bonds would allow her as she tried to subdue the pain. Oh but it hurt.

"Ngh," Riven cleared his throat and tried again, "Muse."

His voice was just a choked out whisper and she was worried that he might have been more injured than anything else. Maybe his vocal chords were fried, or something. "Yeah?" Oh, hers wasn't much better.

"You ok?"

"Been better."

"We need to get out of this."

"Aisha and the others will be here soon."

"We need to be free before that."

"Riven…"

"Just hear me out." He ground out. "Look, when Brandon and the others show up, the Trix will be waiting for them. They're smart enough to know that we usually travel as a group." She was surprised to hear him use the term 'we' usually it was the girls and the boys when Riven was speaking. "If we're still tied up when they show, we'll be used as leverage against them. They can't fight if they're worried about us."

"Oh." He made a good point. Why did she never think of things like that? No wonder he was always so scathing towards her. "I never-"

Suddenly he cursed under his breath and she stiffened. She had a feeling he was silently blaming her, as if it was all her fault they were in this mess. "What about the bats?"

She shrugged. "I can't hear them but…"

"Hopefully they're consuming that pile of crystals so assuming they're not very fast eaters, we might still have some time."

"Here's hoping." She whispered softly. Another shiver ran through her and then her body jolted as a spark of liquid heat zapped through her body from the delicate brush of something against her palm. "Riven?"

"I want to see if there's a way to untie these knots without you using magic that'll attract the bats."

Oh, she thought, tensing her body and sucking in her stomach as if that could control the butterflies fluttering vividly inside her. It was strange sitting there with him solid and firm behind her, the heat of his body radiating against hers and his fingers brushing her own sending electric zings shooting through her system. It was pathetic how he affected her.

Her eyes trailed over the clearing before her. There were the hot remains of the fire that had once burnt in the centre. They glowed orange in the gloominess, the only source of color beside themselves.

"When I untie you, I want you to run to that bush over there."

"Riven we're surrounded by bushes, which one?"

He sighed and it sounded too loud in the closed confines of the forest around them. "The one opposite you with the purple flowers."

She squinted, realizing that yes the one in front of her did have purple flowers and seemed to be high enough off the ground to allow someone to fit comfortably underneath. "What are you going to be doing?"

"Just go, got it?"

She didn't like this plan. She liked the idea of waiting for the others before springing a trap for the Trix. There was safety in numbers and at that moment, with the woods surrounding them, and the Trix having three members in comparison to their two, it would be logically smarter to wait. Of course, Riven wouldn't even listen to reason. He was just so intent on getting revenge on the Darcy.

"You really hate her, don't you?"

"Who?" He yanked on a particularly difficult knot.

"Darcy?"

She felt him stiffen at her back. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You never do," she whispered, averting her gaze to the moss covered earth at her feet.

"Look," he snarled, "just because we're stuck in this dump with the Trix doesn't mean we're friends. When we get out of this hell hole, we'll go back to how we were before. I don't have to tell you squat."

"No, you look. You were not the only victim of Darcy's machinations. Maybe I wasn't put under a spell but she – " her breath hitched as she realized what she'd been about to blurt out. "Other people-"

"She made me turn my back on my friends!"

She averted her gaze and fixed it on a spot in front of her, face grim as she fought to swallow the sudden lump in her throat. She shouldn't have said anything to him. He sounded so agonized and she hated to hear it. The realization that his actions tormented him was like a physical pain. It shouldn't have hurt her; it should have made her relieved and satisfied. It didn't. She found that for some bizarre reason, she wanted to comfort him. He wouldn't appreciate it though and some part of her didn't feel he deserved it. He had been rude before Darcy got her claws in him.

"Despite what you think of me, I wouldn't – I wouldn't have betrayed them without that spell."

She bit her lip, unsure of what she could say to make him feel better. But she drew a blank. She couldn't say anything; Riven had always been so egotistical, so caustic and he never tried to be nice. But deep inside, she hoped that it was only the spell that had made him so infuriating.

"I realized what she was doing… but it was too late. I was so blind." He murmured, the tone of his voice was filled with self loathing; it crawled inside of her making her ache to soothe it. "I wanted to get back at them."

She turned her head, surprised. "Why?" What had they done to him?

"They were turning into idiots. We were training to be the best but they were always running after those damn stupid fairies. Always mooning over them and discussing dates. Even Timmy for pity's sake. What about me? What was I supposed to be doing while they were running off and falling in love? They just abandoned me."

"They didn't abandon you." She snapped but she understood. She did. She had finally met girls who she really could bond with and within days, they were always going off with the boys. She had always felt so neglected but at least she had Flora. Who did Riven have?

"Oh? What would you know?"

She sighed and dropped her chin to her chest. "I know because I was in the same situation. But you didn't have to be on your own. Me and Flora weren't hooked up with anyone and we weren't gaga over any guys either." Except you, she thought, but she kept the words to herself.

"And hear them yanking my chain about you? No thanks."

She squeezed her eyes shut against the sudden pain that flared in her chest. Oh, ouch. That hurt. She wanted to say something scathing back. Wanted to make him flinch but she wasn't sure she force any words past the lump in her throat. "All you had to say was that we were friends or if you didn't want to even be that much, you could have just said we were just hanging out since… you know what, it doesn't matter." She sighed softly, hating herself for allowing him this much control over her.

"Look, I didn't mean that the way it sounded, ok? I just-"

"It's fine." She bit out. It was fine. She had accepted that he didn't care for her the way she cared for him. "We need to do something."

She felt him shift behind her and assumed he was once again fiddling with the knots. The lack of bats was beginning to unnerve her. Surely they should have made an appearance by now. She hated waiting like this.

"Do you sense them close by?"

She closed her eyes and opened her senses. Heartbeats, flares of auras the color of the witches outfits, three flickering flames lingering on the outskirts of her mind. "No, they're further away."

"Why?" He asked just as the folds of rope loosened dramatically. She hissed in relief as her skin began to prickle, the blood circulation started returning to normal. Behind her, Riven rose, casting off the rope and stretching his body, his eyes already scanning their surroundings.

"Probably setting up a trap for Bloom."

Riven snorted. "Probably. That girl is more trouble than she's worth."

"She's worth a lot." Musa snapped. "She's the last heir of Domino but you wouldn't know that because you weren't there when we took on the ice crabs and that monster in the heart of the planet covered in ice. You weren't there when she had to go down into the place that was once her home and look at the ruins and remains of a world that should have belonged to her, a place where her parents' ghosts still lingered."

"Look, I just meant that she attracts trouble and we're always dragged into it-"

"No! I'm never dragged into anything Riven. I choose what I do and who I help. I choose to help Bloom and if that puts me in harms way, then I don't care. All the others would agree with me. We're friends and friends never turn their backs on each other."

He stiffened and she wondered if she'd gone too far. It probably wasn't the smartest speech to make so shortly after his admittance earlier. She was always putting her foot in it around him but if he'd only be nicer about her friends, she wouldn't have to leap to their defense. Why did he have to make things so difficult?

"Look," She sighed, "I'm sorry. It's just that Bloom never asked for any of this. I don't think it's fair that you blame her for the Trix taking an interest in us."

"They were after the Dragon Fire."

Musa sighed, rolling her shoulders and squeezing her neck to get out the kinks. "The choice for her to be the bearer of the Dragon Fire was out of her hands. She was just a baby when Domino was attacked."

"Fine."

She sucked in a breath and held it, refusing to sigh. Why was she continuously disappointed in him? It was in his nature to not give a crap about anyone but himself and his precious Specialists. On the surface she could understand. She could. They were the closest to family he had but he could always expand that family, couldn't he? Was it really such a bad thing to care about others? She had lost her mother and yet, she didn't close herself off from love. And wasn't she stronger because of it? She just wished he could see that. Love and caring about people didn't make you weak; having someone to protect, someone to fight for made you stronger.

"Let's go." He growled, stalking away.

"How are you planning to fight them? You don't have your weapon."

He glanced over his shoulder and aimed those cool, grim lavender eyes at her. Her heart jumped in reaction. Stupid heart. "So we ambush them."

Of course, why hadn't she thought of that? An ambush against three deadly witches with full powers… yeah that would be a breeze.

* * *

**A.N. **_Rather long I know but this was supposed to be a two shot but alas, Riven and Musa are too complicated to be squashed down to something so short and that's why there was such a wait, I had to accept that. Plus college just saps out the inspiration. Anyways, I saw the movie and let's just say it got the juices flowing for Musa and Riven, so I'll hopefully be writing more soon. _

_**Read and Review please**.  
_


	3. Part Three

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Winx.

Preview: Set after season one. Musa and Riven have been sent to the Black Mud Swamp to search for the escaped Trix. The two are unlikely allies. Musa hasn't forgiven Riven for what he did pre-final battle and Riven doesn't think he did anything wrong to her. They found traces of the Trix in the heart of the Black Mud Swamp and so they entered the cold, forbidding area. After spotting Succubae Bats which are lethal to Fairies and which are also endangered, Musa realizes that they're very much in danger of not escaping this journey uninjured. Coming across Stormy, Musa uses an attack to beat back the psychotic witch and thus begins a chase scene. They're captured by the Trix and tied up to wait for the others, only for the duo to escape with revenge running hot through Riven's veins.

* * *

-

-

Musa was beginning to hate the swamp. It was cold, it was damp and it was dark. More than that though, she couldn't shake the ominous feeling that things just weren't as they seemed. She had convinced Riven to give up his plan to ambush the Trix – though she was under no illusion that he had given it up completely – for the moment because she was low on Winx. So low in fact that she had transformed back into her khaki uniform which left her feeling at a slight disadvantage.

Maybe that was the reason that every sound she heard made her heart jolt, and her eyes kept picking out shapes within the dense darkness. Of course, she couldn't voice any of those fears to Riven, who was easily striding through the grim heart as if it were the corridors of Red Fountain, perfectly safe and harmless. Whether they were alone or not Riven was more than likely revving up for a confrontation with the witches, he just hadn't run off yet because it wouldn't be hero-like to leave her on her own. She was under no illusions, however, that when they came upon the witches, he would be launching his ambush.

_Stupid, thickheaded idiot_.

Still, if that did happen, she had a plan. It wasn't a great plan but it would suffice.

"Stop worrying." Riven growled; glancing at her over his shoulder before looking away again, his jaw clenched.

"I can't help it," she replied quietly, "I sense something ominous."

"This whole place is obvious." He bit out but still he felt compelled to ask: "Bats?"

"No, or not just them. There's something else." Her foot snapped a twig and she tensed as the sound seemed to echo around them. Riven glared at her and she snarled back, reaching down to grab the fragmented branch and leave it to the side. She heaved out a sigh and stopped, arching her back to stretch out the kinks. It felt as though they had been walking for hours but at a guess she'd say they had only been walking for fifty minutes at the most. "I wonder where the others are. They should be here by now, unless they encountered something and –"

"They'll get here when they –"

He broke off as Musa shivered, magic rushed over her skin and her head snapped to the sky. She couldn't see anything but thick shadows through the bare tree limbs but...

She rushed forward a few steps and spinning around she tried to spy what her senses were screaming at her. A barrier? But how?

"Hey, is it the bats?"

She shook her head, while her mind worked a mile a minute. Was she right? Had the Trix erected a barrier? What kind and why? Were they inside the barrier, outside the barrier? Where were the bats? She shivered, rubbing her hands over her bare arms that still tingled from the brush with dark magic. A barrier that caused such a reaction had to be one to rival one of Faragonda's and that certainly wasn't a mere physical protection field.

Riven's growl echoed in her ears as his hands closed over her shoulders, hot and rough. He yanked her round to face him and his violet eyes burnt into hers. "What. Is. It?"

Shock held her still in his grip; then she blinked. "I'm not sure."

"But you know _something_."

"I think..." She inhaled slowly, seeking inner calm. She couldn't hide things from Riven. If they were as stuck as she assumed they were, they would need to rely on each other more than before. That meant there could be no more secrets. "I think the Trix just used a level three barrier spell."

Riven closed his eyes then opened them again, his expression pointedly resigned. "Explain."

"I use a level one barrier spell when I'm walking through this place, just a nice shield to deflect any surprise attack. Your shields are level two barrier spells embedded into the crystal, tough to break but doable. Now think of how hard it would be to break a level three one."

He thought that through for a long moment and as he did she realized his thumb was stroking her skin through her sleeve, driving her slowly crazy from the sensations. She curbed the urge to shrug him off, though her shoulder flexed instinctively and his thumb stilled. For a moment she thought he would remove his hand but he didn't, too caught up in his thoughts.

"Hard," he replied, "but doable."

"If the others are there." She agreed, "If they were outside they could take down the barrier easily with a combined attack focused on one spot – well a weak spot would be preferable."

"But my shield – " he looked at it for a long moment, before glancing up at her. "It's pretty tough."

Reaching down she took the little globe that held the crystal for his shield within and examined it. It pulsed thickly around her senses and she raised a brow, surprised. "Hmm, not one level two spell but three interwoven. I knew a plain level two sounded pretty cheap for a hero considering what it would have to endure."

He took it back from her and slipped it into the belt around his waist. "So a level three?"

"Hmm, usually it's not performed by one person because it requires a great deal of energy to create. That's where you get the levels from, you see. Level one is used by one person, a level two by two etc. Of course, a strong person such as Faragonda could quite easily form a level three barrier by herself. And Bloom has the potential to create a level two due to the excess amount of energy within her; in fact I think even Stella could create a level two with her sunstaff."

She bit her lip, and slipped her hands into the belt loops at the base of her spine, tilting her head to scan the empty canopy again. In doing so, she forced Riven to take a step back or their bodies would be touching intimately in a way neither of them would be comfortable with.

"So what level is the one surrounding Alfea?"

"Level five but five is the limit. After that every barrier is considered a level five since there's only so much power that can go into a barrier before you start locking the people inside and blocking out air."

He made a sound of acknowledgement then turned away, moving silently along the path. After one last glance towards the sky, she turned to follow him, blue eyes intent on the naked path. To the side, dry rushes lined the trail and curved around the base of the thin, almost rubbery trunks of the Hollowmen trees. They were called Hollowmen due to the fact that there were holes in the trunks that resembled faces, and the trunk was vacant inside. Just seeing them gave Musa the willies.

"So where would this weak spot be?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. It would depend on where the spell was cast and how far it spreads."

"So we find the Trix, eliminate them and take out the barrier."

Oh yes, that was the easiest way to do things. So utterly simple, why hadn't she thought of it? She clenched her fists and bit back the biting retort sitting on the tip of her tongue. "If we do that, we'll be imprisoned again or worse, be killed. Face it Riven, we're not nearly strong enough on our own to take on the Trix."

He shot her a cool scornful look that said that maybe she wasn't strong enough but he certainly believed he was.

Delusional.

A light up a head caught her attention. "Riven?"

"Relax; it's just more of those luminaire plants."

"Clever," Musa noted. When he glanced at her she added, "You said that if you were hiding in the black mud swamp, you'd choose the valley of the luminaire plants because it would hide a fire. Well this place is even better. You have Luminaire plants to keep away the bats, they disguise fires and being so far into the heart of the swamp, people would rarely trespass... except, this must have been a farm at some stage, or a ranch."

He stepped up behind her as she wandered along the lit up path. It was still creepy; the hollowmen looked suitably disturbing backlit by the glowing sparks of pollen from the flowering nocturnal blossoms. But there was a sense of homeliness from the wooden fencing that corralled the flowers and a sense of desolation from the broken posts and rotten strips of wood.

"Nobody must know about this place." She mused, laying a hand on the jagged fencing, noting the collapsed logs propped against the cracked earth.

"If this was a farm, then there's a possibility that there might be some kind of homestead or storage buildings, like barns."

Riven made a valid point. She knew little of farming and agriculture but it made sense that there would have had to be a place for the person who built these paddocks to stay and keep his tools. "You think the Trix have set up base there? How could they have known of this place?" And what happened to the farmer who had toiled here? Was he long gone? Had he given up on the infertile earth or had the loneliness driven him away?

"They probably studied this place and explored it. They were here before, remember?"

Right, back when they had tracked that Troll and had found the duckling's feathers. Her fingers trailed over the closed petals of a nearby flower. "You know, these flowers are different. Look, they don't unfurl when you come closer and their sparks are almost white, like moonlight."

"They're a breed of Luminaire," Riven replied softly, stroking the petals of another flower. "The ones outside thrive on light, they're called Pyre Luminaire and these are Luna Luminaire."

"Luna Luminaire," She repeated bemused, "kind of a mouthful."

"That's why people just call them luminaire plants regardless of what colour sparks they shoot."

Sometimes Riven disturbed her with the amount of stuff he seemed to know, especially when he had claimed to have no knowledge of the Quietus Carnivorous plants from before. Still, one of the boys had commented that Riven often knew more than he let on, as if to lure people into thinking he wasn't as smart as the rest. It was a clever plan that automatically had people dismissing him as nothing more than a hothead.

"So are they valuable? Was the farmer harvesting them?"

Riven shook his head. "No, I would guess that he used them to light his path. See how far apart they sit, no glow overlaps another and they follow the winding path... back to the homestead, I would guess."

Musa suppressed a shiver. "Ok, so let's go. The sooner we can figure out where the homestead is, the easier it will be to find the weak spot, supposing that the spell was cast at the homestead. It makes the most sense. Of course it would be handier if we could find out where the barrier ends too, that would give me a better idea of –" She broke off fishing through her pocket for her phone, dialling out and holding it to her ear.

Her face fell. "Well there goes that idea."

"What?"

"No reception. The barrier must be interfering with it."

Riven stared at her for one humming second before shaking his head. "That can't be right." At her incredulous, bordering on angry look – because he always criticised her? –, he explained himself with a hard sigh. "Look, you said that's a level three barrier and the one around Alfea is a level five? Well then how do you phone people when you're in Alfea? It's probably something simple like they're out of range or we're out of range. Not everything is to do with magic, you know."

She flushed. "Oh. Right. That could be it. I guess if I sent a message it would probably get through sooner or later."

"Just do it, already. I'm getting tired of just standing here doing nothing."

She bit her lip and began sending a group text to their friends – though why it was left to her, she didn't know, he could just as easily take the initiative and text their friends as well as she could. "Alright, it's beginning to send but it might take awhile for them to receive it. So let's go scout around and see where this path leads us."

"Finally."

She snorted. He was a real prince among men. Sometimes she wondered which higher power she had insulted so badly that she continuously got landed with him. It seemed to be that every time something to do with Red Fountain came up she was paired with Riven. It almost made her wish that Alfea and Red Fountain would suddenly become mortal enemies, because fighting him would be much more preferable to this forced charade of an alliance.

Her eyes flickered nervously to the treeline again. The bats were still out there too and goodness knows where the Trix were. Maybe they hadn't chosen to use the 'homestead' at all; they did have a camp set up. But maybe the camp was a decoy... It was the place that the troll had attacked and so it was the first place anyone searching for them would look; only someone who knew the Black Mud Swamp inside out would know of the farm, it had been sheer luck that Riven and Musa had stumbled upon it.

So it made sense that their true base would be the homestead. They probably even had traps and alarms set up to let them know when someone had come close to their 'camp' which would allow them to ambush their opponents. And should a bigger group come, they were hid snug in their homestead which was probably fortified in case of a siege. The Trix weren't stupid, they knew exactly what they were doing and that's what made them dangerous.

She shook her head at her own thoughts. A barrier, traps, fortified hide out? She made it sound as if the Trix were... her self-depreciating smile faded. She made it sound as though they were preparing for war.

"Riven?" She couldn't disguise the desperation in her tone.

"What now?" He growled under his breath and sweeping his hand over his head he stalked back to her. "You get bitten or something?"

"If they're at the homestead, we have to be careful. They don't want to go back to prison –"

Riven looked to the sky before sighing heavily. "Well of course they don't want to go to prison, that's why they ran away and that's why we're hunting them."

"No, listen to me. We have to contact Faragonda – "

His face closed down. "We said we'd wait."

She considered her words carefully knowing that Riven was going to stubbornly cling to the idea that _they _be the ones to track down the Trix. His personal vendetta. "Until we knew the Trix were here. Well now we know. We have to tell her."

"They might not be here."

She bit back a growl of frustration and slowly unclenched her hands. "Look, this is about more than your need for vengeance, Riven. So you made a mistake, big deal. You were where it counted at the final battle and you got everyone out of Cloud Tower so you more than made up for your transgression. Don't let your past control you."

"You have no idea what I went through!" He spat; turning so his back was to her, shoulders straight, clenching his fists at his sides. "What I'm still going through. You never betrayed your friends and you never had to see the looks in their eyes or listen to snide comments about your previous actions, as if everyone is looking for signs of your inherent evilness. Do you know what it's like to doubt yourself? Red Fountain is all I have and I'm on fucking probation because no one trusts me anymore. I went from general pain-in-the-ass, to that guy you don't cross in case he kills you!"

Stunned she stared at him. Was it really that bad? Did people really think that?

"_So, Riven, crash any more ships lately? ... then again, how do we know it wasn't you that tampered with it?_"

Oh Dragon, of course he had. If she could think it, then anyone who knew him vaguely could think much worse. A trembling hand lifted to her lips. "I'm –"

"Don't!" His voice hoarse, he looked over his shoulder to glare at her. "Don't say it, Musa. I don't want to hear it from you. I don't need your pity; I need your compliance. I have to do this. I have to prove to everyone that I am no longer working for... that bitch!"

"Witch," she correctly lamely.

"She used me and I let her."

Her eyes leapt to his, startled by his words. "What?" She squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed, trying to gain some measure of composure. "What do you mean let her? Why would you do that?"

"Because, I recognized something in her that I had in me."

Oh so they had a connection, it wasn't just a spell but something more. She suddenly felt the need to go hurl in the bushes, as if her stomach wanted to physically and violently repel everything he said.

"What? An innate sense of right and wrong?!" Why did she feel like crying?

"We were alone."

"Alone? Neither of you were alone. You had the Specialists; she had her sisters."

"They're not her sisters." Riven muttered, clearing his throat.

"Yes they –"

"They aren't sisters by blood."

"Oh." Right, sister witches. "But still how could she be lonely when she has them?"

"How can you be lonely when you have the girls?" He countered.

Her mouth fell open to tell him that she wasn't lonely but all that came out was a helpless sigh. Fact was, she understood. Sometimes the loneliest place was a crowded room. She loved her friends, loved them dearly but they hadn't lost their mother nor lived with a shell of a man they'd once known as their father. They had their own problems that she couldn't share. Life was like that.

"I still don't like her and I still don't like what she did to you." Musa confessed, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Trust me, neither do I. That's why I have to do this. I have to prove where my loyalties lie."

"You could do that by reporting them to Saladin."

"And have him call me out in case I succumb again? No thanks."

"What if you do? She got pretty far into your mind. What if prolonged contact does make you succumb?"

His head whipped to her and the horror in his eyes made her realize she'd said the wrong thing. "You really think I'd –"

She shook her head, hands coming up to placate him. "No! But I do understand a bit about magic and –"

"Well you obviously know nothing about me. I wouldn't hurt you!"

Her whole body clenched in reaction to the fierce declaration. It felt as though she'd been sucker punched, the breath whooshed out of her, carrying away her words and leaving her surprisingly speechless, lightheaded. What did he mean by that? Did he mean in general that he wouldn't hurt her because they were on the same side or was it something more? Something directed solely at her?

"Tha –" She paused to wet her lips and gather her thoughts. "I wasn't thinking you would hurt me." At least, not intentionally. "But magic such as Darcy's is complicated and dangerous. She had you under that spell a long time and there could still be threads of it within your consciousness, rooted down. You can't know for certain that she couldn't just capture them again."

"Then why didn't she use it earlier if these threads exist?"

She opened her mouth to retort then thought better of it. Shaking her head, she walked past him. "I don't know, Riven. I'm just telling you to be careful. Run head long into danger and you're likely to end up hurt."

"Don't worry about me," Riven stated curtly as he overtook her to lead the way, "I'm a hero."

So? She was a fairy. That didn't make her invincible. She had to be just as cautious as any person, perhaps more so. Sometimes she wished Riven would stop being so arrogant.

* * *

"Why is he so arrogant?!" Aisha demanded stalking up and down the barrier outside the heart of the black Mud Swamp. "What makes him think that it's ok for him to dictate that Musa goes with him and she'll just follow? And why did she follow? She always complains about him and he's always horrible to her. I don't understand this one bit!"

Brandon tucked his tongue in his cheek and wisely kept quiet. Since meeting the headstrong water fairy he had developed a tactic of just letting Aisha calm herself down when she was angry. She had a certain disdain for male chivalry and so he chivalrously allowed her to say what she wanted – no way was he ending up on the other end of her fists by trying to defend Riven. Who knew what went on in his friends' head? Riven was a lone wolf, he probably just felt that he could deal with Musa better.

"I mean anyone would have been better than Musa. Tecna could have used her computers to track down the Trix if they were there – and you know what, they probably wouldn't have been there if anyone else went to look. Riven just attracts danger and then he yanks Musa into it."

Not like Bloom had ever dragged anyone into danger, or Layla or Stella, Brandon mused philosophically. He loved his girlfriend but the girl could find a cat fight in any fashion store and was likely to draw her companions into it. The search for the perfect outfit was a dangerous one.

"- not to mention the fact that Stella could have been really useful or Bloom or myself. Flora! Flora would have been better, she's a nature fairy! You can't get anyone more adapted to suit this place. But, no, he chooses Musa who he knows has a serious _thing_ for him and why? So he can flaunt how great he is and how much he doesn't need her. Oh I have his number alright. Self obsessed, ego-maniac –"

Brandon swallowed a sigh and mentally picked out the flaws in her ideas. Stella, though he loved her dearly, would only alert the Trix to her presence over her whining about how dirty the swamp was and squealing over bugs; not to mention the fact that Riven would probably kill her and hide the body.

Bloom would probably end up stuck in the swamp because Riven and she had no time for each other due to their hot headedness and her nice personality, which would only grate on Riven's nerves. Aisha would probably bury Riven for being a chauvinist. And Flora, while an excellent choice for himself or Sky or any of the boys in red fountain who may have decided to go on a foray into the dark swamp, would probably shrivel up and die under Riven's withering looks and caustic words.

There was a sudden _pop!_, a metallic bang as the barrier shuddered and then a familiar screech. Aisha jumped back and Brandon darted forward as the Princess of Solaria dropped onto the mossy banks of the river.

"OW!"

"Stella?"

Another thud and Sky plummeted to the ground only to catch himself with his hands and spring onto his feet.

"Sky!"

"Hey guys." The prince of Eraklyon mused as he dusted himself off and moved to Brandon's side. "When did that barrier appear?"

"Must be a recent event. Musa wouldn't have told us to teleport to an area with a barrier enclosing it."

"The Trix!" Stella hissed, using Brandon's offered hand to scramble to her feet. "I know they're behind this!"

"Well Musa's inside so _we_ have to get inside somehow." Aisha growled and Brandon quietly bit his tongue, as he wondered just what she was more worried about. The fact that Musa was in there with the Trix, or the fact that she was with Riven. Honestly the guy got too much hate. Sure he was a jackass at times but he had his reasons and his issues. No one was perfect, after all.

"Well, let's blast it!"

Aisha shot Stella a dark look. "That won't work, Stella. You know that you can't just blast a barrier and expect it to shatter. Not one of that level anyway."

"Pfft, I'll just use my sun staff! It'll go poof in a jiffy!"

"Or reflect your attack back at you. Do you ever listen in class?!"

"Girls!"

Another pop, another bang and another thud as yet another figure hit the ground. This time it was Timmy followed by a hovering Bloom who had managed to catch herself mid flight.

"Whoa! That's new."

"You ok Timmy?" Brandon asked as he leaned over to help the guy up, while the blond quickly fixed his glasses upon the bridge of his nose. Sky immediately went to Bloom's side, the perfect royal couple.

"Of course, I just wasn't expecting a barrier. Hey, where's Tecna? Did she get your memo?"

"I'm sure she did, man. Now Aisha, how do we take down this barrier?"

"It's a level three barrier, we need to find its weak spot and hit it with everything we've got. Right Bloom?"

"Right! Anywhere else will either reflect the attack or absorb it so we need to find the exact spot where the spell is at its weakest."

"And where would that be?"

"Well, it depends on where the barrier was cast and how far it spreads – "

Yet again, another _pop_, a bang and three more bodies hit the earth.

"Tecna!"

"You ok Flora?"

"Hey Helia, is she ok?"

Helia looked up from the girl held tightly in his arms, his body having cushioned her fall and nodded. "She's fine."

Flora blinked, disorientated for a moment, before her wide green eyes locked on Helia's face and she flushed, dropping her gaze. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine."

"What on earth is a level three barrier doing over the heart of the Black Mud Swamp?" Tecna wondered as she brushed Timmy's hand away to get to her feet, then pulling out a small digital analyser, she began to study the barrier. "How long has it been here?"

"We estimate sometime between Musa's last message and Brandon and Aisha's arrival."

"That's long enough for it to have solidified." Tecna grumbled.

_Beep!_

All nine of them pulled out their phones as they went off in quick succession.

"It's Musa! She's... letting us know there's a barrier. Thanks for the heads up Musa." Aisha shook her head.

"She wants to know where it ends."

"I _know;_ I got the same message!" Stella growled, shoving her communicator into her pocket and stomping over to the barrier to hammer her fists against it. "Let me in! I have some serious Trix bootie to kick, so I want in now!"

"Stella!"

"Let me in!" This time accompanied with kicking, Brandon noted with amusement.

"Stel-la!"

"We need to find the weak spot." Tecna spoke over Bloom who was trying to calm the irate fairy down. "Aisha, Flora, do a fly over and see if you can sense anything. Bloom, Stella, I need you to go in that direction and Sky, Brandon in the opposite to see how far it stretches. Helia, contact Musa and let her know we're here; Timmy, you're helping me."

"Hey Bloom?" Flora called out as she hovered in the air behind Aisha, "Do you think it's time to call Mrs. Faragonda yet?"

Bloom considered it for a moment, the nodded her head. "Yes, I think so."

Brandon sighed. Well then, he thought casting a look at his friends, they had better get to the Trix quickly if they wanted to see a piece of the action. And with that thought, the group split up to attend to Tecna's orders.

* * *

The homestead wasn't anything like Musa had expected. Instead of a grotty old hovel with worn stone work, it was a half storey house with white washed walls and a long slanted roof of red reeds bound together. The windows, while shattered and dirty were fringed with green shutters, some of which hung limply from their hinges and while the door had obviously rotted away leaving a gaping mouth in the middle of the wall; still, there was a certain charm to the building.

From her position standing behind a cluster of trees she could discern that it had probably been a nice home once upon a time. The house, surrounded by tall thin trees that stretched to the sky, had been raised off the swampy ground with small columns of bricks, though the steps that had probably led to the river's shore had now rotted away to nothing but shards on the bank. The muddy water of the river meandered under a corroded metal bridge that arched over it and separated the homesteads' island from the rest of the swamp. It was pretty and tranquil and probably would have been picturesque had it been built somewhere else in the swamp but the darkness of the heart seemed to devour it.

So far though, there was no sign of the Trix.

Riven shifted beside her and sighed loudly. "This waiting around is driving me nuts. We should go in and look around. They might have my weapon in there."

"And what happens when they come back and find us inside?"

"They won't. Come on." He cajoled; getting to his feet and stretching. "I'm tired of sitting around."

She rolled her eyes. It was this stubbornness that was going to get them both killed. "Fine, but if we die, I will haunt you!"

His hand appeared in her face and she blinked, jerking backwards. Surprised she stared up at him and watched irritation flicker over his face.

"Do you want a hand up or not?"

She nodded dumbly, taking the offered hand and allowing him to yank her to her feet. She honestly wasn't sure what she was supposed to make of him. On one hand he spoke brusquely as if she was nothing but a burden to him but his actions always seemed to belie his words. She really couldn't understand him.

"Let's go."

She brushed down her shorts and followed Riven as he pushed through the brittle limbs of the trees they'd been hiding behind. Her ears were alive for any sounds or pulses of energy that would alert her to the Trix's return but so far she could sense nothing. Bar the bubbling, the place was disturbing in its quietness.

"You know," she mused, "This isn't what I was expecting. Why would someone build a home here? It's not exactly prime real estate."

Riven jerked a shoulder. "I like it. It's away from everyone else and it's quiet."

"You'd bring up a family here?" She questioned without thinking, for a moment forgetting who she was with as she snuck towards the dilapidated home.

The look he gave her made her flinch and blush. Yeah, somehow she didn't think Riven would be raising a family anywhere at all.

"Well," She mused, "It's not bad place but it's so far from civilisation. I wonder where they got their groceries. It's not like there's a shop just around the corner."

"They probably lived off the farm."

"How quaint." She could just imagine Stella's reaction to such a life but she wouldn't mind it too much, for a holiday.

"Yeah," Riven snorted, "Quaint."

"What? It is quaint." She muttered, stopping behind him as he came to halt before the door.

"Can you sense anything inside?"

Musa shook her head. "No, it's all clear."

"Traps?"

"If there is, I probably won't sense them but there is residual dark energy in the air and there was definitely a spell cast here recently."

Carefully creeping up to the front door, Riven braced his hand on the doorframe and peered inside allowing his eyes to adapt to the darkness. Musa shifted herself so that she was peering over his shoulders. While the outside had retained some of its shape, the inside couldn't boast the same. Not only was the front door rotted and propped against a mouldy, damp wall, the paint was cracked and peeling, covered with patches of black fur.

Musa shuddered as they stepped inside and a floor board creaked. The place smelt of must and decay, a heady scent that went straight to her head and churned her stomach. She could almost feel the motes and spores seeping into her skin and travelling through her airways – it was almost enough to make her choke.

"You ok?" His voice echoed as he stepped inside and bounced back to her with a shocking resonance.

"Hmm," She rubbed her arms as they wandered down the dank hallway, peering into a small lavatory that had certainly seen better days since the toilet seat had fallen to the side and the shower curtain lay in the bath. Rust spotted the faucet and a crumpled black rag lay to the side.

"Look around, see what you can find." Riven ordered, branching off to head to another room while Musa wandered into the kitchen or what she imagined had once been the kitchen. The windows were smeared with dirt and the furniture had been upended except for a few buckets which had been overturned in a circle.

Curious she trailed her fingers over the surface, making furrows in the layer of dirt and causing a nearby spider to scuttle off. Rubbing her fingers, she frowned. If she Trix were living here, why had they left the place in such a mess? It was in their power and their personality to use spells to clean the place up... unless they were pouring their magic into something else. She could see Icy being that single minded.

Her eyes drifted over the rotten cupboards, the mildew covered counter tops and the scent of dust lying thickly in the air. "Whoever lived here before left abruptly."

"Yeah, what makes you sa- Score! Found my sword."

"Well put it away and don't lose it again." She chuckled, moving to the drawers and beginning to pull them out, having to use excessive force to bring them from their holes. "This place looks abandoned. It wasn't packed up before the person left."

Riven came into the kitchen brushing cobwebs and dust from his hair. "Yeah, so it seems. Hell, this place looks like a dump."

"Well as long as I don't come across any dead bodies I'll be fine."

"Your imagination is pretty morbid, no wonder that nightmare beast fed so fully on you."

"Ha. You know, it's as if the Trix aren't even living here. Are there any rooms upstairs?"

He pulled his head out of a nearby cupboard and nodded. "The stairs are rotted away though."

"They'd be up there." She decided. An extra level of security. "I'll go check it out."

As she brushed past him his hand latched around her wrist causing her to halt abruptly. "Be careful."

"I will." She told him, mustering up a reassuring smile as she strode out of the room and frowned. The stairs _were_ completely rotted through; there were no railings, just a sheer drop from the first storey to the ground floor. She could change to her Winx form but that would be a waste of energy and she wasn't exactly full to the brim as it was. She sighed. "Riven?"

"What?" His answer was muffled as if he'd stuck his head in yet another cupboard. He probably had. No one could say the Specialists weren't thorough when they were on the hunt.

"Can you give me a leg up?"

"What?" She heard his footsteps stomp to the entrance and she glanced over as he appeared in the doorway. "Why don't you just fly up? I thought that's why you said you'd go check?"

"Because I don't want to waste energy transforming and then transforming back."

"Then don't transform back." He replied brusquely as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

She levelled him with a dark look. "Help me up."

He scowled but came over and crouched before her, lacing his fingers to form a foothold which she stepped into, wondering for a moment if she weighed much. She needn't have worried since as soon as her foot was cradled in his palms he boosted her up and her fingers latched onto the landing. With deft ease, Riven shifted so that her feet were on his shoulders and with that extra lift, she was able to scrabble onto the floor.

"Thanks," She huffed out, grimacing as she caught sight of her dust smeared palms and shirt. Ick.

Not much point wasting energy on spelling them clean either, she decided, getting to her feet. She heard Riven walk back into the kitchen and she closed her eyes, casting out her senses in the hopes of finding something. Immediately she was hit with echoes and shadows of sounds; phantasms of the previous owners. Laughter, masculine and female and the sound of a baby crying; shouting and crashing crockery followed by whispered voices and broken sobs.

For a moment she let the sounds and emotions wash through her and her fingers curled around the banister to keep her balanced. As they did, she began to sense something else; a pulse of energy, like a heartbeat in the emotional fog. She locked onto it and let it draw her forward. She opened her eyes, not letting go of that pulse and located the closed door at the end of the hallway. This had to be where they were staying.

As she approached the door her skin began to prickle and she closed her eyes once more. A pink, transparent veil was draped over the door and she sighed. A lock spell coupled with a repulsion barrier. Yes the Trix were here alright. The room behind this door was probably their little base where they would sleep, probably in four poster beds with thick carpet and feather pillows. It wouldn't be very different to their dorm in Cloud Tower, she mused, as she continued to feel the veil. It wasn't thick, probably the consistency of a piece of gauze but if this had been cast by Icy, there was a very good chance Musa wouldn't be able to remove it without triggering the alarm.

She pressed a fist to her chest and stepped back, flinching where she heard the audible 'crack' of glass breaking under foot. Kneeling down, she shifted her foot and peeled back the threadbare flooring to reveal what had been half hidden underneath the rumpled carpet. Surprised, she pulled out the small gold foil photo frame and lightly brushed away the jagged shards of glass. It was a picture – an old one judging by its 2-D quality – of a family, probably the one that had lived there before; a mother, father and a baby nestled quietly in the fathers' arms as the duo gazed out from the picture. The man was beaming widely and the mother was smiling but as Musa looked closer she could see that the eyes were strained, almost annoyed. Maybe she was one of those people who didn't like photo's – she, Musa, wasn't too fond of them herself and yet, the mother's eyes had a familiar look of agitation to them.

She tapped her fingers against her lips and took the photo from the shattered frame. She doubted the family would need it anymore since they were long gone, but it might be an interesting project to discover who they were.

"Hey Muse, you find anything?"

Why did he keep calling her Muse? Didn't he realize the affect it had on her?

"Musa?"

"Yes, I found something."

She rose to her feet pocketing the folded up picture and looked over the banister to the impatient Hero beneath. "I've found their room but I'm not going to be able to break the lock on it. It's senior level magic and if the girls were here I'd have a shot at it but, on my own, I'm not strong enough."

Riven sighed heavily and raked a hand through his hair, still clutching the hilt of his sword as if he were afraid to lose it again. "Fine. You can come back down. We're obviously not going to get anything out of here."

She rolled her eyes. Fine, they couldn't get into the Trix's bedroom but they knew where their base was and if they went to Faragonda now, they could direct her, Saladin and Gryffin to the Trix's hideout and all would be well again. Riven was trying to do too much on his own and it was likely going to get them both hurt.

She walked back to the empty stair case and sat down, flinching as rotten wood crumbled under her fingertips. This place wasn't safe. "Give me a hand down."

He reached up and she dropped her hands to his shoulders, taking in the heat of his skin under the thinness of his outfit. She gulped as she slid off the floor and placed all her weight onto him, trusting him to keep her safe. He waited till her feet hit the ground and then released her abruptly, spinning round and stalking towards the front door.

"Come on. They must be somewhere else."

"Hold on," Musa snapped. "I'm supposed to figure out where the weak spot in the barrier is and we should really tell Headmistress Faragonda –"

"No!"

She approached him carefully, rising on her tiptoes to lay a hand on his shoulder; it was tense and rock hard beneath her palm, vibrating with his bottled up emotions. "Yes. Riven, you're going to get hurt. We can't fight them on our own."

He shrugged her off, snarling as he rounded on her. "_We_ don't have to. You can just leave!"

She closed her eyes, her face stoning over. Egotistical male! "I can't just leave you. We're a team and we're supposed to stick together but our mission is to find out where the Trix are hiding and we did that. You're pushing things now and you won't be satisfied until one of us is hurt and guess who that someone will probably be!"

Riven opened his mouth, probably to say something hurtful and unnecessary, when something popped and fizzled around them; the hairs on her arms and neck stood on end in that one instant and then the pressure was gone.

"What was that?"

Musa's lips curled in a satisfied, almost exultant smile. "The barrier's down."

"But how? The others." He answered himself before she could reply.

She nodded. Her friends were here, somewhere, and now they weren't alone anymore. Surely Riven wouldn't run off now, he'd wait for their friends, right?

"Let's go, then."

"Where?"

"Where do you think?!"

"If you go after the Trix, you're going on your own. I'm going to find the others."

"Musa, you don't know where they are." He snapped, exasperated. "The Trix will probably capture you before you even reach them."

"All the more reason for you to come with me and keep that from happening." She quickly pointed out, jumping on his words with a feeling of anticipation curling in her stomach.

His expression faltered for a moment, his fingers reached for the hilt of his sword only to slowly drift away as he sighed heavily. "Fine." He ground out. "Let's go!"

Biting back the urge to cheer, Musa closed her eyes and cast out her senses seeking the voices she'd come to know so well.

"_...was easy."_

"_Stella!"_

"_...find Musa... Riven..."_

All but dancing with excitement, Musa spun on her heel and pointed. "That way!"

Riven huffed out a breath and grabbing her by the elbow, he began to stalk in the direction she had pointed, his now activated sword swinging by his side.

* * *

**AN**. I'm sorry for the late update. Things just got away from me and I was really beginning to wonder if I had the characters in character at all. Also with my creative writing class, I've found myself becoming more and more annoyed with my writing. But I thought I'd post this anyway and see if I can get some feedback on it while I spend the weekend studying for my Literary Criticism Exam. Hopefully you enjoyed it and I'll get the rest of it updated soon-ish. I just need inspiration for Winx again.

No Trix this time but we did get an insight into the others little escapade. I love Stella, she's so much fun to write and we also get to see how Aisha views things. Remember this is set around the season two timeline so Aisha is fairly new to everything and while the girls have their enchantix, they don't have all the experience that came with it hence Musa wasn't strong enough to break Icy's spell. Personally I think Icy would be stronger than Musa at this moment in time anyway.


	4. Part Four

**Disclaimer**:_ I don't own Winx Club. _

* * *

**Reminder**: Set after Season One - ignoring Charmix and going straight into Enchantix - Musa and Riven are tracking down the Trix in Black Mud Swamp. Having been attacked, the duo escape only to be trapped by a barrier spell. They track down the Trix's base in an old Homestead but the Trix are nowhere to be found. The barrier having been removed by the Winx, alert Musa and Riven to the fact that they're not alone. Musa wants to reunite with her friends, Riven wants revenge.

* * *

**T**here was something wrong.

Musa had been walking for at least an hour with no sign of her friends who she had heard earlier. In fact, she hadn't heard their voices in a while. Pausing, she turned to Riven, noting absently that somewhere during his stomping off, she'd passed him. The woods closed thick and black around her and she froze.

'Riven?'

He had been there a second ago. She had sensed him following her close behind, like a humanoid shield, vibrating with awareness. His agitation had washed over her in waves, prickling her senses. It had been disconcerting but its sudden absence hadn't alerted her that Riven was missing.

Where had he gone? Had he snuck off the trodden path she'd been following? She studied the ground trying to see some evidence of his presence. The earth was hard and baked, and carried no mark of feet other than her delicate footsteps. Riven could move soundlessly but wouldn't his weight create a bigger imprint on the ground, wouldn't it?

She frowned and bunched her fists. Why hadn't she paid attention to tracking in class? Because she was a fairy, she reminded herself with a roll of her eyes, and fairies relied on magic.

She nibbled her lower lip but tossed away her worries. She needed to find Riven because she wouldn't survive the Trix without him – he might not survive them without her. She closed her eyes and started out with her heartbeat, following the rhythm of each thump as it echoed out from her body. The air was stale and heavy, thick with the spores of the _Luna Luminaire_ flowers. Dense shadows of trees surrounded her, lifeless and cold, much like the dry stalks of the marsh reeds. Her magic crept along the ground and shrivelled back, touching a searing line of black magic.

_Darcy_.

Her eyes flew open and she stepped back, hands flying up in defence. Where was she? Was Musa trapped in her spell or was she closed out, away from Riven? She winced. What was that witch doing to him?

She should have known the darkness wasn't natural. It was too dense, too dead. She summoned a ball of light and hoped it would be enough to battle back Darcy's magic so that she could find Riven.

* * *

It was a trap. Even as Musa crept from the underbrush to the clearing behind where Riven was bound to a tree, she knew it was a trap. She was helpless to defend herself but she couldn't ignore him. He looked so vulnerable; his head had dropped to his chest, his hair shielding his face. Musa burst forward ready to save him when a thought crossed her mind that made her skip back, just as lightning stabbed the earth. It exploded in a shower of dust.

Musa hissed out a breath and covered her face. Peeking through her raised arms, she saw that Riven was gone.

'Oh, well. That was anticlimactic.'

Musa slowly turned around, looking up as Darcy hovered over her with a wriggling Riven bound in dark purple threads of magic. Lifting her shoulders, Musa made sure her expression was bored. 'That's where you went wrong with your illusion, Darcy. Riven would never look so defeated if captured by you. You may have dated him, but I at least know him that well.'

Maybe she was acting a little too cocky, but Darcy deserved it. The Witch had rubbed her relationship with Riven in her face over and over, it was satisfactory to get one jab in.

'Boring, who cares. Die, little pixie.'

She dived out of Stormy's reach as the curly haired, psycho witch lunged at her. Hitting the ground hard, Musa tossed a glare over her shoulder, bracing herself on her stinging palms.

'Two on one? That's a little unfair.'

'Stormy, go away. Go help Icy or something.' Darcy gestured with a brisk wave of her hand. 'This is my plan.'

'Icy doesn't need my help, besides, I want to get at least one good lick at little miss musical. She's so nauseating and –'

'And there are loads more nauseating fairies coming our way. Go annoy them!'

Stormy folded her arms as she hovered, ankles crossed, her lips pursed in a sulky pout. 'I guess I could help Icy with her pest problem. Releasing a few little winged vermin on the pixies could be fun.'

Pixies, Miss Musical, Musa shuddered. Just who was the nauseating one here? She eyed the two witches, keeping aware of Riven's struggling body. Dragon, this had to be frustrating for him. Was there a way to cut him down? Where was his weapon? If she could find it and throw it to him, could he release himself?

All answers seemed to be negatives.

He refused to look at her. It hurt but she understood. A little. She doubted he was pleased that he was being held captive by witches and about to be saved by a fairy.

Stormy tossed another thunderbolt at Musa – she barely dodged in time – before the witch swept off to find Icy, muttering obscenities under her breath. As she left, Darcy took a cleansing breath and smirked down at Musa, one hand propped on her hip, the other holding Riven captive.

'Now, for the real reason you're here. We're not going to –' she batted away Musa's energy ball, ' – fight. You're not a match for me; you're just a fairy. I'm a senior witch and a descendant of the Ancestral Witches. I'm out of your league.'

Darcy caught a stray hair and tucked it behind her ear with manicured fingers. Her utter dismissal of Musa and her powers stung, but that would give Musa the advantage. She just had to keep repeating that. Musa was an Enchantix fairy and Darcy couldn't know that yet. It was doubtful Darcy even knew what an Enchantix fairy was. They weren't exactly commonplace around Magix.

_Just hold on Riven, I'll get us out of here._

'You're just here to help me torture, Riven. See, torturing one person is okay but two gives me a real buzz and you two, well you're just so juicy. Star crossed lovers, the princess and the pauper, the sweet good time girl and the rebel. You're just one big cliché simmering with unresolved sexual tension.'

Darcy must have swallowed 'Villain's speeches for Dummies' while she'd been in that prison. That, or her mind had begun to decay.

Musa found her base of power deep inside, a glowing kernel of magenta energy and began to fan it. She was weakened from the earlier battle with Stormy and the other uses of it but she built it up, drawing it from every cell of her body and feeding it into the growing kernel. She'd keep it banked, then release it in one big burst, a flash fire that would knock out Darcy, save Riven and prevent the Bats from getting a lock on her position.

Darcy smiled, razor thin, and flicked her fingers.

* * *

Darkness engulfed her. One minute Musa was in the clearing, the next it was gone leaving her caught in an oily, glistening black bubble. In the shimmering swirls of purple, reflections and remnants of her memories wavered and merged into others; then were gone. She saw her world of Melody with its spiral towers, fresh water lakes and coral reefs; the swish of bright lights in the night sky and the music players on every street corner, and concerts in the parks. Her mother smiled at her, beckoned as she glided past and Stella giggled, wagging her finger on another swirl of darkness. Aisha cocked a hip, quirked a brow and was dispersed by an image of Musa's father's tender gaze. She closed her eyes as they began to smart. A tickle began in her nose and her throat swelled, water streaming along the lids of her eyes.

'Musa!'

_Riven_.

She squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to look at the memories tormenting her and instead focused harder on her magic. She needed to break this spell of Darcy's. She needed to help Riven.

'She's fine Puppy Dog. See, I can be ever so nice.'

Like oil, the witch's voice oozed crass seduction.

'Don't touch me.'

She was touching Riven? Oh, that was _not_ okay.

'You're so tense.'

'I'll kill you.'

His voice sounded anxious, as if without much effort, he'd pop his teeth loose from his jaws. She could almost see him straining on the bonds, pushing back from Darcy, his chin jutting out in stubborn ferocity.

'That hurts. We had something special and you act like I'm your enemy.'

'You put a spell on me.'

'Initially, yes I did but then I removed it because I wanted to see if your feelings for me were real. We had something good. I understood you better than any of your friends.'

'No. You imprisoned me.'

'Yes. Also true. I did it for your own good, Puppy Dog. I had to make sure the Army of Decay didn't hurt you. They aren't a very selective group. Anyone who got in their path would be destroyed. I didn't want that for you, so I saved you the only way I could. Everything I did, everything I said was to protect you. And then for me to arrive at that school and see you with them, with _her_? I was heartbroken.'

'You.., don't… have a heart.'

'I live, I breathe. Of course I have a heart. Physically impossible for me to exist without one.'

'Good… can be killed by… stabbing it.'

'Oh you are so frustrating. Stop wiggling so much. She's not going anywhere. Even if you get down there, you won't be able to save her. I just want you to listen to me.'

'Brainwash.'

Darcy hummed, a vocal confirmation.

Musa scowled. That witch! Pretending that she had done everything for Riven's own good. Ogre Balls.

'Maybe she's the one brainwashing you. I mean really, Puppy, you're not sweetness and light. You're not exactly evil either, but you know how the real world works. We have that in common. We do what we do so we can live.'

Oh yes, Musa thought. She often released armies of monsters onto the world in order to get a little downtime. She needed to block out Darcy's words, needed to calm herself, and listen to her inner music but Riven's song was out of synch, harsh chords and frantic beats screamed his panic. Then the music was lulling, long whines of violins and drops of piano notes depicting his defeat.

'We don't play by authority's rules. They were created by the rich, the well off. They skim over us ordinary people and give more to those that have everything.'

Was Riven buying this?

'I know. But we can change it the right way.'

Oh Dragon, he was.

'The right way? By being the good guys? The good guys always corrupt the quickest, and in the least moralistic ways. They close their eyes to the negative; explain away that which they don't want to believe. They delude themselves that everything is right. Riven, we're better than that.

'Don't you see what we could achieve together? Icy no longer rules us, Riven. Her plan backfired, now she knows she needs us and I have a bigger say in what happens in our group. I can bring you in properly. Look into my eyes, lover. You won't be my lapdog, I can be with you the way we were meant to be. We'll be together.'

No.

Musa's magic swelled, a steady throb from her bruised heart.

She was not losing him again.

It surged from the kernel deep inside, up through her thorax and exploded out of her shattering the dark bubble.

'Enchantix!'

Musa reached out and lassoed the magic back to her. It started at her hands, twisting into gloves, then she wound the strong chord of magenta coloured power around her body, cocooning herself in energy. Her clothes melted away, replaced by her Enchantix skirt, top and shoes. She felt the fizzle of her wings forming along her spine and fluttering out as she soared into the air, eyes furious.

'Darcy!'

The witch blinked out her shocked stupor and snarled. 'Fairy, stay out of this. Me and lover boy have a lot to talk about and I don't want to have to hurt you. Yet. Riven, wouldn't like it.'

'Stop messing with his mind. Get your claws out of him!'

Purple shadowy threads coiled around Riven, seeping through his eyes and his nose, shoving into his mouth. Musa almost retched at the sight. He was denied all his senses so this Witch could have a toy?

'I was just ensuring his co-operation. He knows I'm speaking the truth.'

'Then let him – Sonic Blaster!' she broke off, throwing an energy ray at the witch. Her temper focused the power, slamming it into the Witch, knocking her from the air. Riven landed on the ground, curled on his side, eyes black, his mouth and nose sealed.

Darcy spun and sent a funnel of dark energy at Musa. Musa surged into air, whipping around and deflecting it with another beam of energy.

She seized on her own song, a slow building tempo that she ratcheted up with a few taps of a cymbal and the thump of a drum. Darcy attacked and Musa took it, hissing as she concentrated on her song, on the upcoming chorus to end all choruses. The electric guitar swirled around her, quickening, thrumming around her. Another slap of dark energy and Musa dropped to the ground.

Darcy laughed.

Musa chuckled, lifting her gaze. 'You're underestimating me, Darcy. Don't. I'm a fairy, we're all kinds of bad ass that you can't even imagine!'

She pulled her song together and surged forward, yanking it behind; then gathering it in her fists, she threw the chords into the air and then lashed them down at the witch. The whips of magenta notes and strings flayed the witch's dark magic from her hands and knocked her back into the forest with a screech.

Breathing hard, Musa floated for a moment surveying her surroundings, music trickling through her fingers into streams at her feet but Darcy didn't return. A strategic retreat perhaps?

She couldn't hear anything and her energy was gathering in pools, like coiled rope. She dropped to the ground, absorbing it until she hit the ground. It trailed behind her, being sucked inside like a retractable cable as she raced to Riven's side.

He was still cursed by that Witch. Darcy wasn't defeated.

'What can I do Riven?' She couldn't leave him. Would he be okay until they got him back to the school? She would have to find her –

'Of course, Musa. You're an Enchantix fairy.'

Kicking off from the ground, she hovered over him and began to rapidly beat her wings.

_Please work, please work, please work – _

'Why are you sprinkling me with glitter?'

She yelped, clasping her fists together as she swung round to face him. 'You're okay!'

Riven – violet eyed, gorgeous, strong and not covered in black stuff – sat up with a disgruntled look and dusted down his arms. 'What is this stuff – wait, where's Darcy?'

'I – She's gone.' At least Musa hoped she was. 'Just hold still, I need –'

'Where?' he growled, scrambling to his feet and limping to the spot where his sword sat.

Musa blew out a breath and sank down, her feet touching the ground lightly as she slipped into step behind him. 'I need to get rid of any tendrils Darcy still has inside you.'

'Isn't that what the glittery stuff did?'

She shook her head. Stubborn boy, couldn't he at least be grateful? 'No, Riven. It broke the spell but there could be remnants. Please let me check you.'

'I'll be fine,' he muttered, scanning the area, almost scenting it for Darcy's path.

No, he wouldn't. Stalking up to him, Musa caught his cheeks in her palms and forced him to look at her. Alarm shot through his eyes, then they narrowed on her but she refused to back down. 'Darcy hypnotised you –' She pressed her fingers to his lips when he started to protest. She didn't want to hear him defending that witch. 'Just let me check. That way you'll know that all your decisions, whatever they may be, will be your own.'

'And you?'

'I can't influence someone else without music. Trust me, I'm not going to be leaving any traces of myself in your mind.' If Riven ever tried to pursue her romantically, she wanted him to do it because he wanted her.

He stilled then his shoulders sagged in compliance. 'Fine, just get it done.'

She acquiesced with a nod and plucked her pendant from her neck, calling on the healing powers of the Enchantix. Drawing through the air, she closed her eyes and focused on the ritual to boost the magical properties of the healing dust.

'What are you doing? Why do you always make a song and dance out of everything?' Riven huffed.

'Because if I'm not willing to put in the effort, why should the dust do its duty? This is all about belief and desire, Riven. I want to heal you and that need will empower the dust and allow it to do its job.' She lifted her gaze to meet his as the pendant began to spin, dispersing the cage that kept it safe. 'Magic isn't something so simple as a slash of a sword, there has to be a little bit of give and take.' The lid popped off and she poured the dust into her palm, blowing it into Riven's face – if she found some satisfaction in making him sneeze, she was careful not to show it.

He sniffed and rubbed his nose, blinking his eyes against the dust that shimmered over him. His head shook violently and he coughed. 'You poisoned me.'

She fastened her pendant back into place, and watched the dark cloud seeping from Riven's aura combust in purple sparkles, 'You're just a natural whiner,' she decided. 'At least now you know all your decisions will be your own.'

'Great, all my own precious thoughts.' He studied her for a long moment and his scowl grew darker. 'Don't you have some kind of spell to change your outfit? Is there anything after this? Maybe a costume with pants?'

She blinked down at her outfit. She thought she looked quite pretty and it was nice to be feminine for a change since she had always been outshined by the other girls' fashion. Well except for Tecna. Suddenly a sly thought made her smirk. 'Why Riven, I think I'm making you uncomfortable.'

With a gurgle of laughter, she stalked past him and led the way out of the clearing, pleased that she'd rendered him speechless.

And that was when the bats attacked.

* * *

_TBC_

* * *

**A.N.** _Long wait, I know. I've been getting my degree and I'm not really smart so it really took a lot of focus. I was also on a serious block with this one when I finished my studying. I always started it and was so sure I knew where it had to go but then I finally just let it flow and it seemed to work. I've more written, I just want to skip ahead with my writing of it and then you'll have your next chapter hopefully soonish. All reviews are welcome, concrit is appreciated but please no grief over delays in updates - they don't inspire. _


	5. Part Five

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Winx Club.

* * *

**B**ats swept from the trees, screeching and chirping, their prehensile tongues peeked from their nozzle-like mouths to taste her magic. Musa stumbled back, her hands came up to shield her face even as she felt the energy start to leave her. It was like being slowly dehydrated. Her skin felt tight, her head began to pound and her vision blurred.

'Musa!'

Riven shoved her behind him as he scanned the area, sword pointed at the perceived threat. The neon glow cast from the blade glinted off the black eyes of the bats as they hovered. They studied the two of them, some taking to the branches of nearby trees as they assessed the situation, chattering angrily with their tongues darting out to taste the magic on the air. Despite being lethal to faeries, the bats weren't natural predators.

Musa pressed closer to Riven, to keep herself upright as her knees began to shake and in order to yank him back if he sought to take them on solo.

'Riven, we need to get out of here,' she croaked out, mouth dry. She curled her fingers into his cloak and bit back the urge to smother her face in it, to breathe in his scent and escape from the world for just a few minutes. They were in danger; she couldn't afford to be thinking silly girlish things.

'Run, I'll hold them off.'

Musa shook her head. 'No.'

That wouldn't to work. She couldn't leave Riven while Darcy might still be around, not while he was weakened by spells. Hopefully they were still tainted by Darcy's black magic. Perhaps that was why the bats were holding back.

More shrieks came from above them and she looked up to see the flutters of dark shapes against the gloomy darkness of the mesh of tree limbs and canopy. Dragon save them, the bats were everywhere. Even if she ran off and left Riven to have his sword and shield destroyed so that she could find the others, Musa knew that the bats would track her down.

'Musa, run!' Riven ordered, backing up.

Her temper flared and she leaned into him, pressing her lips to his ear. 'Above us there are bats. Even if I could run, they would only follow me. You can't distract them all.'

'I can try.'

'Won't you get hurt?'

'I don't have magic. I won't die if they attack.'

She didn't like the way he said that, as if it was some failing on her part. 'Riven…' she trailed off with a sigh, backing up.

Maybe he was right; maybe she should run. If she could find the girls, they could do something to stop the bats but she just couldn't bring herself to leave him. She shivered, cold fingers trailing down her skin. Goosebumps thrilled down her arms and over her legs, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end.

She wanted to scan for the girls; she wanted to know they were close. She heard no explosions and the air lacked the charge of magic that attracted the bats, so either the Trix had escaped or both parties had managed to avoid each other.

Riven began to back them up as his head twisted to look around them, then his free hand reached back and directed her off to the side. Frowning, she stumbled back into the shrubbery, wild grass brushed at her legs. Her hand touched bark and she steadied herself, frowning at Riven. What was he doing?

'Get down!'

She frowned. 'What?'

'Don't argue!' he snapped over his shoulder, summoning his shield. 'Get into that hole.'

She looked behind her. There was a tree with a hole near the base, hollowed into the trunk and earth. 'You want me to hide? Riven, you can't fight them on your own.'

His shoulders tensed, his jaw clenching but he only backed into her, making her inch closer to the hole. Oh but this grated. She, a fairy, a member of the Winx Club was climbing into a hole to hide while Riven stood over her. His shield lifted as he hunched down. He was blocking off all access to her.

Like a call to arms, the bats swooped down, sucking at the energy radiating from his shield. Musa heard his growls from behind as the bats bombarded him. His swinging attacks were ineffective.

'You can't kill them,' she mumbled. 'They're endangered, remember?'

'Why do you think I've been missing? If they had some sense of self-preservation my blade zipping past them warns them to keep away. Except, kind of like anything with wings, they think they're invincible.'

Subtle, she thought with a roll of her eyes. Her wings weren't feeling very invincible, quite the opposite as they were forced to bend around her in the small space.

He huffed out a breath, as he crouched further behind the shield, making himself as small a target as possible. It didn't quite work with the bats, they were siphoning from the aura of the shield itself and with a significant crack that barked through the stale air, she realized the shield was beginning to break.

She shifted in the cramp space, the dirt that caked itself to her knees crumbled off; cracked wood scraped her skin and tugged on her hair. She knelt up behind Riven and sticking her hands through his elbows, she threw up a shield.

'What are you doing?' he hissed, glowering at her out of her corner of his eye. 'Pull that down. You'll only exhaust yourself.'

It was like having her blood pulled through her skin – a stinging sensation that crept through her making her wince in pain. She hid her face from him, sucking in a breath through her teeth. It hurt. Another tremble racked her body and she curled her arms around her body. The shield began to weaken. Riven muttered a stream of curses.

'We need… to work as a team,' she told him, holding herself tighter and closing her eyes. She felt light headed as hot needles lanced her skin.

'Drop your shield Musa, you're losing too much.'

She shook her head but that required so much energy. She dropped it to Riven's back and took comfort in the solidness of his muscles. He could take the weight of it for a while. 'It's just a level one shield, it's not that much magic.'

More bats swept down, their chirping and screeching clawed at her nerves.

'Musa,' her name was ground through his teeth. 'Drop your shield. I won't stand by and see you hurt.'

He was crouching, but she didn't think he'd appreciate her pointing that out. 'Why is it so hard for you to allow me to help? I can protect us as well. If we work together we'll be able to hold them off for longer.'

'I'm a Specialist.'

She hated that response. A Specialist allowed him to train in all manner of things but it didn't mean he would be a soldier; it just meant that he would be skilled in battle. Sky was a Specialist but he would become a ruler who might not ever see a battlefield, Brandon might become Sky's advisor or Stella's consort, neither might mean being a warrior. Helia was a Specialist and a pacifist, while Timmy was a technical genius.

'I plan to join the Elite,' he added gruffly.

Oh well, that was different. The Elite were inter-dimensional warriors of a sort. Bloom compared them to the Earth equivalent of the Navy Seals or Black Ops or something. Musa didn't know how accurate that was but she knew that to be an Elite was a tough, hard life that required the best of the best. Getting in was next to impossible and the training was wickedly difficult. She considered him for a moment; then chuffed out a laugh.

'I can see that.'

'Yeah, whatever. I probably won't get in.' He shrugged her off and hunched his shoulders, watching the bats whip themselves into a frenzy. Their screams and dive-bombs became wilder and they snapped at each other during near collisions. They landed on her shield, their greedy tongues lapping at her magic.

Musa winced but focused on Riven's wounded expression. Silly boy had no idea of his worth and he probably wouldn't appreciate her softer feelings towards him. 'I meant it. I can see you doing that. I know you're the best student in your year Riven, I know you're good at strategy, and I have seen you battle; the only thing that ever hinders you is your temper. When you get that under control, I know you'll succeed.'

He cast her a quick doubtful glance, his lips all but pouting. Musa made her expression as earnest as possible and his expression melted back into that gruff expression she recognized. Closing her eyes, she rested against him. He stiffened but she couldn't muster the energy to sit up on her own, not even to appease him. She couldn't lift her hand to push the hair from her face that tickled her nose.

'Muse –' He leaned back into her, his foot tapping the ground. She laid her face on his shoulder, the cloak soft under her cheek.

'Sorry,' she muttered, 'I need to drop my shield.' She was so tired now. It would be so easy to sleep.

'Yes. Damnit, drop it!'

She sucked her magic back inside; the bats shrieked, whirling in a cacophony of flaps. She knew they would drop down on them now and Riven's shield wouldn't hold for the attack. Curling up, Musa cast away her Enchantix form and focused on the kernel of her power, winding all her magic around it. She would keep it safely tucked inside her, so that maybe the bats would leave them alone – leave Riven alone.

'Musa, just stay awake. I'm not your pillow.'

She wanted to smile but she was cold and it hurt to keep her eyes open.

'Musa stop leaning on me and open your eyes.'

She nuzzled into him. His neck was fragrant and warm under her nose, soft despite the hard training he went through every day. She wondered how disgusted he'd be if she kissed him there, maybe bit it just once to see if he tasted as good as he smelled. She doubted he'd be impressed. He would probably leap up and snarl at her. She was taking advantage of his protective instinct. She was no better than Darcy really but she couldn't find it in her to care.

The bats swarmed Riven's shield, greedily sucking the magic from it while Riven squashed her back into the hovel, trying to keep them from getting anymore of Musa. She had to admire him but she was scared for him as well. She opened her palm to throw up another shield but Riven's fingers twisted around hers. They were hard and rough, crushingly painful but then they softened as he made a sound.

'Stop trying to shield us, you'll end up killing yourself.'

She wanted to smile at his gruff words. Her hair spilled over her shoulders, down his arms as she nuzzled closer to his warmth. It was getting so cold and the temptation to just sleep was so inviting.

'Musa!'

* * *

'I can't believe they separated me from Brandon,' Stella grumbled. 'It's unfair. It's not as if Brandon and I share a lot of quality time. He has his work; I have my classes and extra curricular activities. You really would have thought we could have done this little quest together… Flora, are you listening to me?'

Flora smiled faintly as she brushed a cobweb out of their path. Should Stella have seen it, their idea of stealth would have been lost. 'Yes, sweetie, I'm listening; but you have to understand, you can't be with Brandon twenty-four-seven.'

'Not twenty-four-seven, just a few hours here and there. This mission for instance, we could have easily paired up but no, Riven mixes us all up and then he flounces off with Musa.'

Flora didn't think Riven did much flouncing but she suppressed her giggle at the absurdity of the idea. Stella could be amusing when she was irked, but she could easily cross the line to being irritating. Flora decided that Sky had been quite clever when he directed Stella to accompany her in the quest to find Riven and Musa. Aisha would have snapped at her, Brandon and she probably wouldn't have gotten too far. Timmy was scared of Stella, Tecna and Stella would have split up, Bloom and Stella… well they probably would have done quite well but neither would separate from their boyfriends and Bloom was needed to find Icy.

'Well Riven likes Musa,' Flora stated simply, as her feet picked up a distant tapping vibrating through the ground. She wondered if Stella could feel it but figured that it was too faint to be picked up by the Light Fairy.

She glanced over her shoulder as Stella sidled up to her, blonde brows wiggling. 'Like likes her?'

Flora blinked. Well no, that wasn't what she had been inferring. 'I don't…' She bit her lip and tilted her head, considering the question seriously. Riven did gravitate to Musa's side quite a lot during their expeditions but he usually just said something derogatory about fairies and then Musa's temper would flare up and Aisha would launch into a grand debate on whatever a Specialist could do, a fairy could do better. But that was Riven, he was ornery and he wouldn't straight out announce that he liked a girl because that would be admitting a weakness and painting a target on his back.

She folded her arms and tapped her fingertips against her upper arm in time to the beat under her feet. 'Sweetie, if he does, it's none of our business. Don't say anything to Musa because you will only get her hopes up.'

Stella sighed loudly. 'Fine. I just want you girls to be as blissfully happy as I am with my snookums. Well, that's a tall order, but I would settle for either of you to be well kissed.'

Flora didn't point out that Aisha didn't have a boyfriend either. Stella had a few issues with the new girl to their group. 'Stella, can you feel that?'

Immediately on alert, the amber-eyed fairy scanned their dark surroundings, her glowing hands coming up to cast a defensive shield if needed.

'A rhythm.'

'Like a beat? Like Musa? Is she in battle? Does she need us?'

'No, it's too repetitive and doesn't feel like magic. I can feel it vibrating through the ground, like someone's urgently tapping it. Da-da-da da da-da-da. Over and over.'

'A code?' Stella wondered, crouching down and tentatively touching her fingers to the dark, cold earth. 'I don't feel anything but it could be a code. Brandon has classes in crapology.'

Flora opened her mouth to to correct the term to Cryptology but decided against it. 'Could he translate?'

'Well I'd phone him but he could be fighting Icy, and I don't want to distract him. Here's an idea, what other Specialist do we know that does the same classes but won't be fighting witches?'

Flora sucked in a breath, then released it; her stomach began to flutter. 'Well you should phone that person and find out what the code means.'

Stella's smile turned sly. 'But I can't hear it, so you should phone.'

Right, she could do this. She was an Enchantix fairy and Musa and Riven's lives could be in danger. She could do this. She was strong and female and – 'Really, he knows you better.'

Stella didn't buy it; instead she carefully found herself a nice rock that was not covered in moss and hoisted herself upon it, pulling out a nail file. It was pretty declarative; she could sit there all day until Flora phoned Helia. With her hands shaking, Flora pulled out her communicator and searched through her contacts for Helia. As the call began to connect, she started to pace, her heart thumped hard against her ribs as her body quivered. How should she greet him? Should she be friendly and casual, or professional and aloof? She didn't want to be overly familiar with him but she also didn't want him to think she was being snobby.

Helia's projection formed in green light in front of her, looking slightly distracted as he fiddled with his notes and blinked at her. 'Flora? What a pleasant surprise.'

'Ah – ' she broke off and swallowed, flushing darkly at how her composure failed her every time she came face to face with the new Specialist. She squeezed her eyes shut and breathed in deep. 'Helia, I was wondering if you could do me a favour?'

'Hi Helia.'

Flora obligingly turned her communicator to show Princess Stella sitting on her little perch waving a manicured hand.

'Hello Stella, how are you?'

'Good, good.'

She hadn't been 'good, good' two minutes ago, Flora mused with a faint smile.

'Now what can I do for you, Flora?'

'I'm hearing a rhythm being tapped out, a da-da-da da da-da-da. Do you know any codes that sound like that?'

Helia frowned. 'Where are you, exactly?'

'The heart of the Black Mud Swamp.' And just the mention of the cold dead place made her shiver. She disliked how quiet it was. There was no warmth, no vivid life and it took more effort than it should for her to use her nature powers. She knew Stella was feeling the same problem, being a light fairy in such a dark space was crippling.

'It's an SOS signal. A code for help.'

Flora exchanged a glance with Stella. 'Riven,' she decided. It had to be.

Stella eased off the rock. 'Can you follow it?'

Flora nodded as she turned her attention back to Helia. 'Thank you for your help.'

'You know how you could thank him,' Stella blurted out. 'You could go on a –'

Flora snapped the communicator shut and whirled to glare at Stella. She held up a hand, reining in her temper as she struggled to put the communicator away.

'We need to find Riven and Musa.'

Stella's earlier amusement died as she motioned for Flora to lead the way.

* * *

_To Be Continued_


	6. Part Six

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the Winx Club.

* * *

'Come on Muse, wake up.'

The tapping at her cheek was irritating her and she couldn't seem to dislodge it. Every time she twisted her head, the tapping moved to the other side. She tried to murmur a protest but her mouth was dry and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth.

'Just wake up and stop being so annoying.'

Her head felt like lead, her neck ached with the strain of holding it up and she really wanted to punch Riven. She pried her eyes open – that was harder than it should have been – and glowered at the boy leaning over her. At least she thought it was Riven. It was very gloomy in her… hovel?

'Where are we?' she managed to shove the words past her lips. She wasn't sure if they were fully formed but they were expressed.

'We haven't moved,' Riven grunted, jostling his knee against her leg as he tapped out a beat, a really bland beat. Ba-da-da Da Ba-da-da.

Her eyes began to adjust and her brow furrowed. Were they in a cave? No, they were in a hollowed out tree trunk, tucked in behind its excuse for roots and Riven's shield because they'd been attacked by Bats. Her hands instinctively reached for the Specialist, checking him for wounds as she wondered if the shield still held off the bats.

'Are you okay?' She kept her words soft, not wanting to disturb or attract the bats. He was completely blocking her from the opening, protecting her in a way that touched her deeply. It didn't shock her, too much. He was a Specialist after all, protecting people was part of his duty but this was Riven, and he was putting himself in danger to keep her from being harmed. Her heart softened to mush.

He batted her hands away with a disgruntled sound. 'The bats seem to be resting.'

'How's your shield?'

'Powered down, you were unconscious for some time so I guess that muted your magic.'

'Do we make a run for it?'

The look Riven sent her told her that he thought the idea was stupid. He tilted his head to look out, his jaw catching the faint light by the lone luminaire plant at the edge of the clearing. Even in profile he was strikingly handsome. Maybe life would be fair and his face would grow ugly as he matured. It happened to some people.

'We can't make a run for it; if they wake up, you're history. We can't outrun them, and you can't fly.'

'But you said they're resting, aren't they sated? They're not very big and we-'

He covered her lips with his fingers. 'We're fine here. I put a bush in front of us so we're as shielded as we can be. Someone will find us.'

That had to be killing him, waiting for someone to save them and it was all because of her. If he were on his own – 'You could go find someone and bring them back.'

'Considered that, but there's no guarantee that you'll stay here.'

Oh.

He had considered leaving her. 'I promise I'll stay here.'

Not that she could leave on her own feet anyway because she couldn't feel them. She couldn't even see them to reassure herself that they were there. No, they were there. They had to be.

He didn't respond, just turned his attention to the clearing once more.

Musa shifted and a sigh escaped her lips. It was too confined to move and her stomach was beginning to cramp from being bent so long. She glanced at Riven, wondering how he was feeling. His foot still tapped out that rhythm and she half thought he was nervous, except for how disciplined it was, like a code. 'You're signalling for help.'

'Hm,' he glanced at her and shrugged.

The world shook and Musa grabbed hold of Riven's shoulder for balance as something rumbled past them. The earth exploded in a shower of clay and dirt, and vines slithered up the thick, dead tree. Musa's breath shivered out as she leaned over Riven's shoulder to watch the vines snake their path up the trunk, entwining around the branches.

"What is that?'

Riven surged to his feet, phantoblade blazing. Musa fell out of the hole just in time to see the vines close around the bats, knitting small individual cages. She flashed a grin, her hands braced on the ground, as she saw the two girls at the edge of the clearing. Flora rose unsteadily to her feet and wiped her brow.

'Thanks, Flora.'

'You okay, sweetie? Riven, how are you?'

'Fine,' Riven muttered, swinging his sword.

'Of course he's fine, he's just spent oodles of time with Musa in a bush,' Stella said.

Musa flushed and crawled out of the hole, brushing down her dirt caked knees and smudged arms. Yeah, Riven had to love spending time with a girl who looked like a golem. She pointedly looked away from him as she stood up and staggered away, glancing up at the small cages. 'Will that work?'

'It'll contain them, but they're distressed.' Flora stepped forward, and touching the vines, she closed her eyes and pushed her power into them. 'Enchantix Orchidacea Somniferum.'

They glowed with green energy that shivered up them and then buds began to appear, blooming and unfurling, revealing pale white petals and long stamens. A pale purple miasma began to seep from them, hovering like a cloud that lingered over the captured bats.

'Sleeping powder?' Riven asked.

Flora nodded absently. 'It packs a punch but it doesn't have any side affects, well none that Kiko's shown.'

Stella stopped playing with her hair and blinked. 'You use Bloom's pet for experimentation?'

Realising what she'd said, Flora flinched and bit her lip. 'Well Kiko spends a lot of time with me and Bloom doesn't seem to mind.'

'She might if she knew you were acting like a crazy plant lady around him.'

'Stella,' Musa admonished, but she suppressed a grin at Flora's sheepish expression. Well, Musa allowed, Bloom didn't pay too much attention to Kiko. Even being attacked by plants and their pollen would give the rabbit more affection than Bloom could spare most of the time.

Riven just shook his head. 'I don't want to know.'

'Riven probably does the same thing with his own squad mates.'

Musa shook her head with a faint smile. 'Stel_la_.'

'Ooh, I noticed that emphasis on the last part of my name, but honestly, Riven, admit it. You like to go crazy scientist on your –'

'I'll go crazy Specialist on _you_ if you don't - what's wrong with _her_?'

Musa snapped her gaze to Flora who was braced against her ivy vines, panting gently. 'Are they sleeping Flora?'

'I don't…' She paused to swallow, lifting a hand to her brow, 'I think so. I can't be sure.'

Riven summoned his sword, glaring up at the bats. 'We don't have time for this. Are you going to be okay to walk?'

Musa grabbed for Flora's hand and drew her from the plants, sliding her arm around the girl's waist. 'We'll hold each other up, right?' she coaxed with a grin.

Pale, and exhausted, Flora nodded. 'I'm really fine.'

Stella flicked a hand at them. 'Yes, that's how I like to look when I'm fine too. Zombie couture, it's so in right now.'

'Kill me,' Riven muttered as he stalked ahead of them. 'Kill me now.'

Flora slipped her arm around Musa and the two girls carefully followed Riven and his blade, and Stella's faintly shining aura.

'You okay?' Musa asked, huddling closer to Flora.

'I think I'm a bit better than you are. How did you survive the bats?'

'Riven, he used his shield to protect me.'

Flora smiled softly, 'I guess his bark is worse than his bite? Is that how Bloom says it?'

'I don't know but if it means that he's all show; yes, it does seem apt.'

Riven glowered back at them but slowed his pace, eyes constantly surveying the area for bats or any other kind of danger. He was probably keeping an eye out for Darcy – he definitely wouldn't be happy with that witch getting her psychic claws into him again. Musa didn't know what Darcy had done to his mind, but she was hoping he was thinking clearer now. Not that his personality had changed much. Had she expected it to? Maybe a little but she was glad that he hadn't turned into someone like Brandon or Helia. They were lovely guys, but far too nice for her liking.

She shook her head at her musings. She wished for a magic powder to help her think clearly, to wipe Riven from her brain; problem was, he wasn't just in her mind and that was something no magic powder could change.

* * *

'We're being followed,' Flora muttered, falling into step with Musa. Since emerging from the dark heart of the swamp, the Fairy of Nature had recovered dramatically. Her skin was flushed, her eyes bright and she stood straighter. Obviously, the blatant presence of life had invigorated her. Unfortunately, the swamp had a tendency to absorb sound so Musa wasn't faring as well. Still, she had to admit that it was nice to be out of the darkness and under the sky speckled with starlight.

'Did you tell Riven?'

Flora nodded and plucked a flower from a vine, twirling it with a wistful smile. 'Yes, he says act natural. From what my senses are telling me, our follower is alone so if they move to attack us, we'll be able to capture her – I'm guessing it's a witch.'

'Be at the ready, and tell Stella not to get cocky,' Musa added.

'Riven says not to tell her, says she'll only give the game away.'

Musa considered that for a moment then shook her head. 'Tell Stella it's a game, she loves acting.' Stella would probably act completely over the top but Musa wasn't in the mood to play Riven's games. Her body ached, her spirit ached and she just wanted to go home. Screw covert tactics, she wanted a bed to lie in and judging by how weakened she felt, that bed would be in the infirmary with Ophelia hovering over her.

Flora fluttered to Stella's position and casually slid an arm around her, resting her head on the blonde's shoulder as she asked the Princess of light about what colours would suit her for a date. Musa's brow winged up impressed.

'Well Flora, for your date with Helia, I'd suggest –' With a flick of the hand, golden light surrounded the nature fairy and suddenly she was wearing civilian clothing – worse, a ball gown. Musa face-palmed. Act natural equalled a change of clothes. Only in Stella's mind.

'Stella! You can see…' Trailing off, Flora motioned to her breasts.

'I know, it's kind of daring and risqué, but you want a guy to notice you have great breasts. Right Riven?'

A squealed sounded behind them followed by a rustling of leaves. Turning on his heel, Riven launched himself past Musa and into the shrubbery. Musa sighed and turned to chase after him.

There goes stealth mode, she thought angrily as she flashed into her Enchantix and kicked off the ground, following the muted rustling of bushes and the snap of twigs under fleet footsteps. There! She could hear a second pair of feet, rushing ahead of Riven and a squeak. She could smell the electricity on the air and burnt earth. Then Musa burst onto the scene just as Stormy made a grab for her. Her hands went wide and Musa ducked under them, bringing her fists up into the witch's stomach.

'Stormy! Give it up!'

Musa wasn't scared now; she was annoyed. Today was an utter catastrophe of a day. Nothing had gone right since she'd started this mission. Of course it would be Riven and her who would find the Trix's hiding place and get ambushed. Naturally they found their lair and they just had to walk into Darcy's trap and it wouldn't be right if the bats didn't feed on them. Now to be attacked, _again_ by Stormy, was just the absolute cherry on the pile of shit that was today.

Lightning struck at Riven but he sliced through it with his blade while Musa used her Sonic Shield to block a Cyclone Whirlwind. She skidded back a few feet before throwing off the spell and her palms glowed.

'Enchantix Amplifier!'

Her voice echoed as the purple sound waves swept out. Stormy dodged and tripped as Riven jumped in to slash with his sword. With a growl the witch launched more lightning at them but Musa and Riven blocked again, before switching back to the offensive, circling the witch so they could attack from both sides.

'Enchantix Sunbeam!'

The spear of light blasted into Stormy's back, sending her stumbling forward. She whirled round with a hiss, hand to the spot where she'd been struck. Seeing that she was outnumbered, she panicked. She boosted off the ground, intending to fly away but Riven's bolo's whistled through the air and slapped around her ankles. Stormy shot up, faltered, and then dropped. Another attempt at getting airborne was stopped when roots burst from the ground and entangled her legs and arms, holding her tight.

'Woot, go team!' Stella cheered as she landed and held up her hand for a high-five. 'Anyone?'

Riven made a disgusted sound and dispersed his sword shoving the handle into its holster. 'You keep an eye on her, I'm going to find the others.'

'Don't you want to question her?'

Musa didn't bother telling Stella not to waste her breath. Riven was in attitude mode and he probably wasn't impressed with the Jinx Club saving his backside. No way he could have fought Stormy on his own without being injured.

'It's your fault in the first place, Stella. I told you to act natural,' Flora said gently. She leapt from her tree, after patting it gratefully for lending its roots.

'I did.'

'Next time act natural and keep aware of your surroundings,' Musa ordered as she turned to look around them. There was a vine tied to a branch overhead and judging by the frayed and burnt fragments it had tripped up the witch who had fried it to escape. Had Riven done that during one of his frequent disappearing acts? She'd blamed his absence on an overactive bladder. Oops.

'Oh pooh,' Stella muttered. 'I'm going to call Faragonda and let her know our location and that we've captured Stormy.' Her attention turned to the witch as she winked and wagged a finger. 'You're not going to escape this time and maybe while we're waiting I could give you a make over. Do you know how much better you'd feel without all that muck on your face? Have you ever thought of going blonde? We do have more fun, you know.'

'Musa, maybe you should check on Riven,' Flora suggested, keeping her eyes on the witch who was beginning to struggle in earnest, belying her earlier cool, unfazed demeanour.

Musa blew out a breath. She didn't want to check on Riven. She didn't want another telling off or have more insults slung at her and yet… They had been making progress. She didn't want that to disappear once they left the Black Mud Swamp, and since her friends had shown up, he'd been slowly pulling away. Maybe if they were alone, he'd open up, tell her what was bothering him so much. Well, it couldn't hurt too much to try.

* * *

_To Be Continued_

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**A.N.** Well a good bit happened in that chapter. I just want to remind folks that this story has been and always will be an exploration of Musa and Riven's relationship. It's not a big action story, there's no big evil and if that's what you're looking for, there are plenty of other fanfictions on the site for that. If I'm still inclined to write in the Winx genre after this story then the next story will probably be more plot focused with everything expected off cartoon series.

As always reviews are appreciated, they let me know my writing is appreciated. I like to know what people think and what they liked or disliked about the chapter and reasons why. Things that happened in this episode will be dealt with sooner or later as the character gets around to processing them, don't think that I am glossing over emotions or actions.

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**Review please!**


	7. Part Seven

**Disclaimer**: I don't own the Winx Club but the original ideas and plot are my own.

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_**IMPORTANT**__**: **_**After posting the previous chapter, I had reservations about a particular action of Riven's. When a few reviewers commented on the same issue, I went back and reread it. Agreeing with them and my instincts, I decided to rewrite that scene but instead of making you all go back and reread the previous chapter, I've put it at the start of this one.**

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**Part Seven**

When Musa found Riven, he was hunkered down beside a tree, his nimble fingers twisting a vine in a knot. She folded her arms across her chest – fiercely reminded of when she and Riven had first come into the swamp. It felt like years had passed, instead of a few hours. Surely Faragonda was worried about them. No one had intended on being gone so long, curfew must have passed in the dorms of Alfea.

Riven didn't look up at her arrival, but she knew he was aware of her presence. Nothing sneaked up on him.

'So you set a trap for Stormy?'

He didn't answer but continued to fiddle with the vine. Not too far away a stream trickled by and a mud puddle bubbled and gurgled. She could hear the hiss of a spider that had to be close or the swamp would have swallowed its noise, and a frog croaked. She rubbed her arms warm, suddenly finding the isolation and quiet of the swamp chilling.

She tapped her foot as Riven continued to futter with the trap. 'Will you disassemble them before you leave?' Flora would be furious if an innocent creature happened to be captured by his manmade traps.

Again no response, and Musa felt her temper prickle. She had begun to warm to Riven, to see a side of him that she genuinely liked, now he was back to being a pompous prick. It was annoying; she had changed her perception of him, had reached out the hand of friendship and Riven had seemed to take it, but was now tossing it away.

She shivered and blew out a breath, hunching her shoulders.

'Why don't you power down?'

Because powering down would leave her relatively defenceless? She bit back the urge to snap at him because that never achieved anything with Riven.

'It would waste more energy,' she muttered instead, but she was getting tired of explaining her lack of energy. Fairies weren't all powerful. They had a limit and she was reaching hers. If she changed to civilian form, she would have no energy to transform back into Winx. She knew the extent of her powers, had learnt through tireless classes and tasks at Alfea. It bugged her that Riven constantly questioned her. She never challenged his training, unless he was being stubborn.

Her head felt woozy and her body was beginning to ache from the pressure of holding onto her energy. Music would help. Music would drown out the lack of noise, the strange eeriness of the swamp and Riven's complete inability to converse like a civilised being. She slipped an earbud into her ear and indulged. It was like a hit of euphoria, a delightful distraction that raised the hair on her arms. It curled inside her, feeding the tendrils of magic seeking sustenance but it wasn't enough. Not for this amount of deprivation. A quick glance up assured her that the moon was beginning to peek through the thick canopy. Stella would be fine and despite the dormant earth, Flora would soak up energy from the nature around her. Her girls were safe.

Riven yanked on the knot, checked that it was secure before releasing it as he stood up. He turned to face her and his expression darkened further.

'What now?' she asked, running a hand over her neck and tugging out the earbud.

'Why so much skin?' His voice was flat, his face expressionless but for the muscle flickering in his jaw.

She looked down at herself and shrugged. Okay, she was a little underdressed by normal standards but no more than the other girls.

'It's just the Enchantix, Riven. Why do you have such a problem with it? It's no different to your skin-tight spandex suit! The other girls are dressed the exact same, why don't you bother them about it?'

He was making her feel awkward in her own skin and she didn't like it. She spent enough time worrying about what she was wearing and what she looked like. Trousers were more comfortable for her but she had always envied the other girls for looking so pretty in their Winx.

'It's not you,' he growled. 'You don't dress like that.'

'How do you know?' Her breath was beginning to clog in her lungs as her face burned. 'Did it ever occur to you that I might want to look pretty for a change? That maybe I'm fed up being the tomboy fairy, always treated like one of the guys?'

Riven's fists clenched. 'Your other outfit looked better!'

Well, wasn't that a slap in the face. She naively thought he'd notice her in this outfit, but it didn't matter what she wore, Riven was determined to dislike her. She sucked in her hurt and sniffed, propping her hands on her hips as she channelled all her temper into her glare.

'Well I like it, and I'm the one that's wearing it, not you. It's the final form for a Guardian Fairy, so you can either go around with your eyes closed when you're stuck with us or stop coming along with us altogether. I'm not changing.'

Riven went still and that muscle worked in his jaw. 'That's your final form?' he voiced, hoarsely. 'Nothing after.'

She jerked a shoulder. Honestly, unsure. She was going by hearsay but with Bloom as a friend, anything could happen. They were already in line to graduate earlier than the rest of their peers.

'It's dangerous Musa. Don't you know the kinds of people that are out there?'

She sighed and gestured to herself. 'This means I can fight off anyone that attacks me.' She had already defeated Darcy, something she wouldn't have had a hope of doing in her Level one form.

Riven went still and then his eyebrows knitted over narrowed eyes. Slowly he looked at her and as he straightened, he walked to her, menace rolling off him in almost visible ways. 'So,' he mused, his tone darkening, 'you're saying that if someone attacked you right now, you'd be able to fight them off?'

Her chin jolted up. Damn right she could fight them off, she was a fairy – except her energy was down to the final drop in the well. 'Well, not right now –'

He moved fast, suddenly appearing in front of her. Rough, calloused hands grazed her shoulders before clamping tight.

She froze; stared up at him. 'What are you doing?'

Riven never touched her, not unless he absolutely had to – like earlier when he'd been saving her life.

He shook her and her wings quivered.

'I'm holding you right now,' he said, 'and there's nothing you can do to defend yourself.'

Wait, what? Why on earth would she defend herself against Riven?

She caught his meaning and blew out a breath, ready to growl at him that he'd made his stupid point when he walked her back against a tree. The rough bark pressed into her skin, nipping and scratching at it; her wings spread wide.

'Come on, defend yourself.'

Musa shook her head, trying to shrug him off. 'Riven, stop. I get it –'

He was immovable as he held her firmly by the shoulders. 'I said, defend yourself.'

Annoyed with him and his ornery attitude, Musa lifted her foot to stomp on his toes but he moved, preventing her attack.

Musa scowled, but her heart was beating wildly in her chest, in her ears, pulsing at her throat. When her eyes met his she expected to see a flicker of arrogance, a smug smirk. Riven's expression wasn't obnoxious; it was deadly serious and that frightened her.

'I get it. Now let go.'

'There are dangers out there other than the Trix. You rely on flashy fairy powers that don't protect you, and instead you invite more danger.'

'Let. Me. Go.'

'You know I won't hurt you.' He forced out the words, daring her to deny them. She knew he wouldn't but that didn't mean she liked knowing that he could. Riven was taller than her and stronger. She'd never seen that as a threat before and she didn't like seeing it now. This boy had helped save her against the Succubae bats, and she knew that he was being pig-headed to make his point, but her fight or flight instincts were screaming.

'But what's to stop another from overpowering you?' Riven continued, his tone forcing her to face his words.

Musa swallowed, her mouth dry. She had to peel her tongue from the roof of her mouth before she could speak again. 'Please, let me go.'

He abruptly released her with a heavy exhalation but he didn't back off, instead he loomed over her, silently demanding his answers.

She wanted to step away. She wanted to pace, to gather composure, and align her thoughts. Her head felt messy, there was too much noise in her brain and her whole body was like an exposed wire, fritzing and sizzling. She closed her eyes, depriving her body of one sense to help calm the others. She could smell the earthy scent from his uniform, from the time he'd spent on the ground, and the indefinable scent that just made her think of Riven - maybe it was his cologne. She could hear his breathing, thought she could feel each exhale feathering her hair. There was even the faintest brush of heat from his body. The boy was a walking, talking distraction. He was also a friend, a protector. His actions were meant to help her; he just approached it wrong.

She lifted a hand to her temple and rubbed slowly. The tree bark was imprinted on her skin, cool and hard. The air was warm and dry, any moisture having been greedily sucked up by the sleeping plants. Musa forced herself to focus on these, calming herself.

'There's a spell,' she began, exposing a secret only fairies knew, 'a glamour that's part of being a fairy. If someone were to physically reach for me, their hands would be deflected. Most don't even think to try physical force because of the repellent infused with the glamour. I told you, this,' she gestured to the outfit, all poufy cloth, bright colours and sparkly wings, 'is to be visually distracting; it's not armour.'

Riven snorted. 'Well it doesn't work. I can touch you and I'm not repelled from thinking about it.'

Her gaze snapped up, fury searing him. 'It does work.'

Riven's hand clamped to her waist, a rough brand that almost sank into the soft flesh, and those purple eyes of his locked on hers. 'How am I able to do that? Your costume isn't acting as a barrier now, Musa, and no other guy is going to see it as anything but an invitation! You're pretty, guys will notice.'

Yeah, it had worked so well with Riven. He was all but falling over himself noticing her.

Musa silently seethed, visualising all the spells she could inflict on Riven once she had her powers back.

'I told you, they won't touch me.'

'I'm touching you right now.' His exasperation ramped up the temper in his tone and he shoved a hand through his hair. 'There's nothing to stop me.'

'That's because I trust you,' Musa snapped; face hot, her voice throbbing. 'I trust you,' she repeated, on a shaky breath.

Riven dropped his hand and backed away so fast he nearly tripped. He looked like she'd physically slapped him. Musa sighed and pushed away from the tree, taking a few steps so that she could finally breathe. Her face felt hot, her skin too tight, her scalp felt strained under her hair and her costume itched. She felt unbearably naked.

She heard a rough curse and turned just in time to see the back of Riven's cloak disappear through the trees. Her eyes closed and she struggled with the emotions that threatened to burst out of her. Her cheeks burned hotter but cold shivers wracked her body. He just left. Didn't he want to question her? Explore what she'd said? Shout at her that he wasn't worthy of trust or tell her that she didn't know him?

Oh.

He – he had said that he wanted the boys trust. Did he think she'd made up that answer to placate him? To charm him? She hadn't even thought of that. She'd just told him the truth. Despite everything, she did trust Riven. He was a decent man and the time spent with him today had proved that.

But he had just left her.

Her hands balled into fists and she considered storming after him, to demand that he acknowledge what she said. That would only drive him away, of course, but why not just put the final nail in the coffin that was their relationship. Nothing had changed during their jaunt through the dark heart. He still didn't like her, they hadn't formed a friendship and nothing deep or meaningful would come from their encounter.

She inhaled deeply and rolled her neck, feeling the pull of muscles as her wings quivered. Well fine, if Riven wanted to go back to being strangers, she could do that. She had worn her heart out chasing him last year, but she had naively thought he just needed to see he was worth something. She knew better now. Riven just wasn't a people person and she deserved better. Her mother had raised her to be more than a cloak chasing bubble-brain.

Despite her bold thoughts, her whole body felt bruised and she couldn't quite prevent the quiver in her limbs. She crouched down in the grass and hugged her knees. Her eyes smarted and she blinked away the burn as she plucked a blade of grass and began to twist it around her finger. She was just so tired. It had been a long day and a lot of things had happened. In a moment, Musa would pick herself up and she would go back to her friends to set things to right.

Well, she'd escort Stormy back to Alfea and then march herself to the infirmary. Which was good, she thought. She had a valid reason not to see Riven again. Tossing the leaf away, she began to rise with a new sense of purpose.

The sound of a hiss behind her made her shoulders slump. She peered over at the spider tentatively scuttling towards her. She stood up, brushed down her hands and sighed.

'I am so not in the mood for this,' she muttered, drawing up the last iota of magic she had and focused it in a blast at the spider. 'Enchantix…' Her vision greyed. She swayed on her feet. 'Boom…' She shakily aimed her faintly glowing hands. 'Blast.' The magic swept out of her leaving her cold and feeble.

Something cried.

There was a thud.

Darkness took her.

* * *

'When I get free…'

Stella rolled her eyes and studied her nails critically as she blocked out Stormy's latest threat. With Musa and Riven having left the clearing, Flora and Stella had assumed guarding duties over the youngest member of the Trix. Well Flora had really, Stella was taking the moment to just soak up a little bit of moonlight because any light was good light. She glanced up at the makeshift skylight that Flora had created for her in the weave of branches. Having a Nature fairy as a friend was so helpful.

'Don't ignore me!'

An acrid cloud of purple smoke rose from Stormy's corner and wafted to Stella's boulder. She wrinkled her nose and glanced quickly in Flora's direction. 'Is she burning the vines?'

'She's trying to,' Flora answered, 'but those vines are _earthed_ and your lightning can't burn through them so please stop. You're polluting the air.'

'I will not stop. This is your entire fault! Release me and my sisters won't kill you.'

Stella paused in the act of fixing her glove to raise a slender blonde brow. 'Uh, hello, we did not do this. You and your 'sisters' did this.'

'You imprisoned us.'

Flora gaped obviously gobsmacked by Stormy's utter belief that she was the injured party. Stella merely shook her head. She was used to whiney girls who believed themselves to always be in the right. Her father was attempting to date one.

_Ugh. Shudder. Don't even think about it. _

Sliding off her moss-covered stone, Stella stalked to the entangled witch and raised a finger to poke her. Lightning sizzled and crackled over the vines. 'Gloves, witch,' she informed Stormy snidely, before leaning close to look into the Storm witch's eyes. 'Now listen up. You are in the wrong. Evil does not get to have take-backsies. You can't turn around after setting the Army of Decay on everything and cry foul, "oops, we were just fooling" does not hold any… water?' she glanced at Flora for clarification.

Flora nodded with a sigh as she too came closer, eyes a brighter green as she enforced her nature powers. 'You did something wrong Stormy, and now you and your sisters have to pay for it.'

'Everyone was undermining us. No one understood our true power.'

'So you rebelled?'

'Sure,' Stormy drawled; turquoise eyes, lined in kohl, widened innocently.

'Pfft.' Stella dismissively waved a hand as she sauntered back to her stone. 'Rebelling is blowing up a lab accidentally on purpose. You guys released the Army of Decay,' she began to count fingers, 'destroyed two schools, enslaved a boy and tried to steal Bloom's Dragon Fire. Yeah, that just deserved a slap on the wrist. The Fortress of light was way harsh on you guys. If you want, I'll go talk to them immediately and you guys can be on your merry way.'

Stella's lips curled in a mega watt grin, all sincerity and niceness until Flora muttered her name and the smile became lethal sharp. 'Oh oops. No can do because you tried to kill my friend.'

'Which one?' Stormy asked, closing her eyes.

Opening her mouth to say Musa, Stella paused. Stormy and the Trix had tried to kill them all at some point. Narrowing her eyes, she scowled at the smirking witch just as those eyes snapped open revealing bright purple lightning.

The reeds surrounding their encampment shivered. There was a faint whistle as leaves rustled.

A strong gale rushed through the trees. Stella tried to jump into the air but the wind slammed her into a tree, holding her there.

Flora grabbed a branch and spun into a crouch, slamming her hand into the ground. Vines shot up into the air forming an impenetrable wall, cutting off the tempest. Stella dropped to the hard baked earth and threw a ball of light. The blinding flash broke the witch's concentration and the howling wind disappeared.

'I keep forgetting her wind powers,' Stella grumbled, dusting herself off as she glared at their prisoner. 'You try that again and we'll see how you like the touch of my Enchantix powder.' It wouldn't do anything serious but it might tickle enough to scare her. Maybe all that good magic might burn her. Stella wasn't sure she cared enough to worry about the effects.

'Release me,' Stormy growled.

'No,' Flora said. 'You are going back to the Fortress of Light to be tried for crimes against us and Magix, and also the criminal act of importing Succubae bats out of their natural environment.'

Stormy chuckled drily. 'That was all Icy's doing. She thought they might like a vacation. They're perfect fairy deterrents.'

Flora stomped her foot. 'They're endangered creatures whose natural habitat is not a forest but a cave.'

'We fed them and kept them in a cool, dry place. They were fine.'

Flora made a noise of frustration as she stalked to the corner of their clearing, glancing off in the direction Riven and Musa had gone. Stella sighed and hoisted herself back onto her stone. She wondered if Bloom and the others had tracked down the other members of the Trix. She knew they could fight them but Icy was tricky. They wouldn't face the girls one on one, no they'd find somewhere to hide and then take them out one at a time.

Looking to the sky, she prayed that Brandon and the others would be okay; then she scowled at Stormy, rolling a chunk of furry moss through her fingers. She rubbed her fingertips together and stretched out her legs, exposing as much skin to the moonlight as she could.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Flora's wings suddenly stop beating as the girl froze to utter stillness. 'Flora?'

Flora shook her head and glanced over at the imprisoned Witch, the vine ropes clenching a little tighter. 'I'm going to go check on Musa. You'll be okay with her, won't you?'

Shifting a little with the moving beams of moonlight, Stella considered the question, then nodded. 'We'll be fine together.'

The Nature fairy seemed torn for a moment, then with a flick of her hand, a large leaf uncurled from the vines and snuck over Stormy's mouth, firmly covering it. 'I'll remove it when I get back but consider it a safety feature,' she told the Witch before she flew down the path.

Stella watched until Flora's pink clothes disappeared. Riven had probably done something to Musa, or maybe Flora had sensed the portal opening. Surely Faragonda had got their message and was getting ready to rescue them. If she wasn't…

The blonde haired fairy looked around uneasily. She'd never even considered it, but as she studied the thick shadows and ominous twisted branches, the hollowed out faces etched into tree trunks, she wondered if it was possible for the Trix to have snuck around. If so, she was a sitting duck out here on her own. She sprang to her feet and shook her head, moving to stand beside a tree close to the exit Flora had followed. If they did attack, she would rush out to meet Flora and Musa and release a few solar flares. She just had to keep reminding herself, they out numbered the Trix and there was help on the way.

And that was when Stella felt a change in the air, the faintest pulse of energy vanished.

'Musa.'

* * *

Riven's feet barely made a sound on the stone lined path. Dirt, packed down like hard, brown cement, scuffed softly under his steps and dry, golden rushes brushed his legs, clung to his cloak. He kept his fingers loose but firm around his sword hilt as he prowled the route to where he suspected his squad might be. He wanted out of the Swamp; his skin itched – a noticeable prickle that couldn't be relieved.

The blade of his sword flared a brighter indigo as it sensed the presence of magic. He crouched down and swept the area with his sharp gaze. Nothing moved behind him, he heard no snap of twigs and while the canopy was dense, nothing floated above him. A good Specialist always scanned the skies; there was too much danger that could attack from above.

Noise came from further down the path; the sharp snap of branches, the buzz of magic and a rhythmic thud that sounded like digging, or beheading. He wasn't really sure which he'd prefer. Headless Bloom or buried Bloom… both sounded great to him.

Not that it would happen.

Keeping low, he crept forward, parting the foliage before him and peering through. A sharp hill veered down towards a valley where a large stone cylinder lay horizontally in the base of the 'V'. His knee pressed against the moss-covered ground as he knelt, scanning the area. The thud came from below him… behind him?

Riven frowned as the thud echoed and he shifted to look around him, his eyes narrowing. His sword was still glowing, still a sure sign that magic was close. He looked down at the circular tubular construct. There was something wrong with it; it wasn't new, too much ivy had constricted around the stone for it to be something modern, but it was also a hollow tube where something or someone could be hiding. His senses screamed at him to be alert.

Glancing back in the direction he'd come, Riven cursed himself. The Jinx Club were fine; the trio he had collected were probably painting each other's nails and… yeah. They would be fine, the portal would open soon and they'd be back in the safety of Alfea, discussing boys and how pretty they were. His eyes rolled before he could stop his silent scoffing.

Skirting the bush, Riven began a slow, measured trip down the incline, wedging his feet into crevices and holding tight to conveniently growing vines. He was watchful as he approached the base, lined with trees. Just as he was about to lunge to the bottom, a movement caught his eye.

Fairies.

Riven slipped behind a tree and watched as Tecna and Aisha hovered at a 45 degree angle to the cylinder, tilting their heads to look at the opening. Aisha was radiating hostility as she folded her arms and scowled darkly; Tecna was stabbing her inner arm with her finger. He assumed there was a digital device there, or perhaps it was Tecna's brand of self-harm, excessive poking. Who knew with the Jinx club?

Whatever they were doing, it made him wonder where his team were. Where were his fr- teammates? Had the Trix caught them? What would Darcy and Icy do to them?

Nothing. They'd be more interested in Bloom, and Aisha and Tecna would be more concerned if precious Bloom was missing. Everyone was fine. Everyone.

Still, his gut was clenched in a greasy, messy clump of knots and he felt uncomfortable in his own skin. There was magic radiating everywhere and he just wanted to stab his scimitar through it and walk away. Just leave – no. He needed his revenge. He needed closure. Everything else could wait until after that was done. After that, then he could start to redeem himself, make himself worthy.

Aisha swept away from Tecna and flew off behind a group of trees. Pushing his issues aside, Riven followed her, keeping under cover.

She didn't fly far.

'Tecna's not getting a reading,' Aisha said as she landed.

Riven sank down behind a prickly bush and angled his head towards her voice. There was movement and then the heavy sigh as something metal punctured the earth. 'Can't you just blast the barrier?'

Brandon. Riven didn't acknowledge the slight easing of the tightness in his chest. It didn't disappear but somewhere a tiny knot untangled.

'Brandon, I think if that was an option, they would be doing it.'

Timmy. Another knot unravelled.

'You know we can't blast through it.' Aisha's tone was full of bra-burning, fairies-are-the-best superiority. 'That's why you're trying to dig a tunnel. Dragon, where is Faragonda? If we were in serious trouble, we'd be dead by now.'

Even Riven couldn't ignore the panic that was beginning to tinge Bra-burner's voice. For a girl who tended to take on the world with no fear, her concern was alarming. Riven took a deep breath and let it out slowly, counting to ten. He had to be rational, had to think things out. The Trix were nearby and there was a barrier, which Tecna had scanned while she and Aisha had hovered overhead. Brandon and Timmy were digging, probably thinking to get into the Trix's lair from beneath. Which begged the question of where Sky and Bloom were.

_No prizes for guessing._

'I'll go check with Tecna again. Maybe she's found something for me to blast.'

With Aisha gone, Riven stepped out from his hiding position and resting his sword on his shoulder, he cocked a hip and studied his squad. Brandon was hunched over his shovel. His shoulders were slumped, defeated. Timmy's tool of choice was a pickaxe, which he used to poke the hard sediment as he shook his head at Brandon. The brunette Specialist shot him a disgruntled look and began to dig again.

'You guys should be more aware of your surroundings.'

Brandon didn't even glance at him as he continued to shovel out the dirt, tossing it on a pile. 'What are you doing here?'

Riven didn't bother to answer that. It was a stupid question delivered in a belligerent tone. He didn't even know why Brandon was in such a bad mood and he didn't care. Riven had enough emotional drama.

'Where's Sky?'

Brandon jerked a thumb behind him while Timmy coughed and quickly jumped into their hole with his pickaxe. The ground around them was worn with strange patches of dried yellow grass grazed low and bare spots of dark brown dirt. A pile of it, mixed with gravel, sand and stone sat to the side.

Riven followed the direction of Brandon's thumb the line of dense foliage as if he could see through it and his lips thinned. 'Is whatshername in there with him?' Stupid question. Where one went, the other did too. 'What are they doing? Sharing a special hand holding moment? What about the Trix? I'm assuming they're in the cement tube and you guys are digging a hole to reach them?' Better to get all the answers now in one fell swoop, though he didn't really care to hear about Sky and Bloom, and their super special fun time.

Brandon sighed and tossed his shovel aside. Immediately it flashed down to a small crystal, tiny enough to sit comfortably in his palm. Plucking it up, he stashed it in his belt as he sat on the edge of the hole and shoved his hair off his face with the side of his wrist. 'Sometimes I wonder why you bother asking when you've already worked out the answer.' At Riven's hard look, he continued. 'We chased Icy and Darcy through the swamp and finally ran them down to that valley and we had them surrounded, but they hid in the bunker.'

'And?' Why didn't they just go in and get them?

'And they've erected barriers and booby traps.' He yanked up his trouser leg and showed Riven a dark gash. 'Bloom's magic was reflected away and it hit Sky so she's trying to heal him now. He's fine, minor burns but he needs some medical attention.'

'Let me phrase the question this way,' Riven sighed. 'Why are you trying to get them out? Just leave them in there until Faragonda and Co arrive.' Really, did he have to draw them diagrams?

'They're casting a translocation spell,' Timmy answered. 'Tecna estimates that it could take an hour to cast and they started casting it fifteen minutes ago. We have forty-five minutes to get in there and stop them.'

'The Templars will be here by then.'

Timmy shook his head, taking off his glasses and wiping them with the corner of his cloak. 'We don't know when the Templars will get here and by the time we break down those trap spells, they could be long gone.'

Riven scowled, clenching his fist. 'I'll get one of the girls to contact them again –'

'Send Stella and the girls here,' Brandon corrected. 'Bloom says we might be able to break down the barrier if we have all the girls.'

Riven scratched his cheek as he considered Brandon's words. 'Right, I'll send you Stella and Flora, but Musa needs to go back to Alfea. She's too drained.'

'What did you do to her?'

Musa's face flashed in front of his eyes. _I trust you._

'Nothing,' he growled. 'It was the bats. I protected her.' He always – he had protected her.

_And then you left her in the woods. _

_Drained. _

'Go tell Stella what's up and contact Saladin,' Brandon said, taking out his crystal again and curling his fingers around it, it flashed blue and morphed into the shovel once more. 'We'll keep digging.'

Riven hated the fact that he was walking away from danger but he knew that Brandon was right. Contact via communication devices in the Swamp was sketchy at best so passing messages via word of mouth was safer. And if he went back, he could make sure Musa went to Alfea and got out of the swamp.

His eyes lingered on the valley as he hiked back up the hill and he silently promised that he would take Darcy and Icy back to the Fortress himself if he needed. He would never be anyone's pawn again.

* * *

Something ripped a hole in the very atmosphere of Black Mud Swamp. For an instant, sweet, fresh air drifted from the torn gash to replace the stale heat. Stormy watched it form, felt the hairs on her arms stand as magic flooded her small clearing. She glanced around for the Sun Fairy but she'd raced off a little while ago.

Stormy was on her own.

Fear of the unknown made her struggle against the vines, the adrenaline pumping through her – sparking with flashes of lightning – numbed her to the raw, splitting skin. She didn't feel the blood well and slide against the vines.

As if pushing a flap of fabric open, a figure emerged followed by two others. They came to a halt, scanning the area. Their eyes locked on her and the leader's expression hardened.

'Where are the Winx?'

* * *

_**TBC**_

* * *

**Please, please don't review complaining that the first scene is the same. It's not. Due to the fact that I had to rewrite this scene, I also had to fix a few others scenes and it changed things so that's why there was such a wait. I hope you enjoyed and please review if you can, I love to hear other's feedback.**


	8. Part Eight

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Winx Club. I do own the ideas.

* * *

_A.N._ It's my **ten year anniversary** on the site today. Happy Birthday to me. So in honour of that I've posted this! I'm also looking through SLTS to finish it for those who are concerned. Ten is a big number, so I'm hoping for some reviews please.

* * *

Chapter Eight

* * *

'I cannot believe that Riven left you,' Flora muttered, as she focused plant energy into Musa's solar plexus. They sat in a small sheltered area of worn, burned grass with gangly-limbed shrubs stretching around the perimeter, except for the gap that served as an opening. It was the safest haven that Flora could create in the swamp.

Since Musa didn't want to talk about the sullen Specialist, she concentrated on the clothes she was wearing. She'd only lost consciousness for a moment or two but in that small time frame, Stella had managed to clad her in one of her creations. No longer in her Enchantix, Musa had woken to find herself in a hot pink one-piece that was cut high on the thigh with holes for her shoulders to peek out – and to provide a nibbling ground for bugs. Her sleeves ended at her elbows and the waist was cinched with a gold belt. It was a very pretty outfit, simple and feminine; it just wasn't something Musa would have picked out for herself. There was no denim, no dark blues or deep reds. Thankfully, she couldn't see her reflection.

At least her boots were nice, she mused, tugging at the laces tied under her knee. They were comfortable, provided great support and the flat soles were perfectly sturdy with good grip. Luckily Stella hadn't felt the need to inflict heels on her; she could already feel her feet swelling because she had walked so much in her Enchantix.

She lifted a hand and scowled at the gold bangles that clinked delicately. 'I cannot believe you let Stella dress me in this,' she complained to Flora.

'You look beautiful.' When Musa's eyes narrowed, the Nature Fairy shrugged. 'She was upset, it gave her something to do and you know Stella, she's never happier than when she's designing costumes. It's her comfort blanket, or a tub of ice-cream on a horrid day, or you,' she pointed at Musa, 'listening to music to block out the world.'

Oh! Her earphones! Where were they? Musa felt her neck, then patted down the pockets sewn into her loose shorts and frowned, stumped. Where were they? She'd been wearing them around her neck when she and Riven had… talked. Had they fallen out when the spider had attacked?

Flora sighed. 'I have them. Don't worry.'

Slumping in relief, Musa blew out a breath and rolled her neck. She was going to be in such pain when she finally got to Alfea. Her body was already punishing her for how the day turned out and once the adrenaline stopped flowing, she knew she would crash. Her ears were hyper alert, her skin felt over sensitized to the extent that her clothes were uncomfortable. She felt the urge to shed them and had to sit on her hands.

Flora's gaze was assessing for a long moment but she returned her attention to her hand. While Musa knew what Flora was doing, she couldn't feel it. She couldn't sense the plant energy seeping into the Well that held her magic; if asked, she would have no way to locate Stella. She felt naked and vulnerable.

'Musa, stop squirming.'

'I'm sorry. Flora, I'm going to be okay, aren't I?'

Blinking, Flora stared at her for a long moment – so long that Musa began to feel ice cubes sliding down her spine – then she smiled with reassurance. 'Yes, sweetie, you'll be fine.' She winced, and gave her shoulders a Gallic roll.' You will hurt, I won't lie about that. Your body is so exhausted that you might sleep for a day or two, but we'll get you to Ofelia and you'll be fine.'

What Flora didn't say – and what Musa guessed – was that she'd been close to death. It had shown itself in the white brackets around Flora's mouth, the strain in her eyes and in the agitated manner that Stella had paced their little glade before stalking off with tightly bunched shoulders. It was probably for the best that Musa couldn't remember anything after she'd shot her magic at the spider. She didn't remember fainting or her body hitting the ground – her elbow and knees remembered it though from the growing blotches that were staining her skin and the scraped skin – and she couldn't recall hearing Flora calling to her. Apparently Flora had arrived on the scene just as the spider had reared up to attack Musa's prone form. She had woken to Flora and Stella arguing because Flora had shooed the spider away instead of killing it.

Musa wasn't sure how she felt about Flora's actions. They were typical of Flora but she couldn't equate the creature that attacked her with a 'poor little thing that was just hungry'. It had seemed pretty savage with its clicking mandibles and gleaming eyes. She shivered and hunched her shoulders against the chill that was settling inside her.

'You're getting colder?'

Tugging at the hole at her left shoulder, she raised a brow. 'I'm not exactly dressed for warmth.'

Flora shook her head. 'Musa, the temperature here isn't cold. It's room temperature at the very mildest, like standing in the kitchens in Alfea when the furnace is closed off.'

'I just feel cold inside.'

Lips pinched, Flora pressed a hand to her forehead. 'You're burning up.'

Oh, well, that was reassuring. Musa bit her tongue and averted her gaze, needing a distraction. Where were the others? Were they okay? Was Riven with them or had he run into Darcy?

She closed her eyes against that thought and grasped at the nearest question that floated in her mind. 'Hardly the way you wanted to spend your weekend, huh?'

Flora let her switch the subject and chuckled wanly. 'No, but you know, being a member of the Winx Club calls on a level of flexibility.' Her green eyes travelled along the worn path of yellowed moss framed by an avenue of hybrid thorn bushes. 'I wonder where Stella is? She went to check the portal but she should be back by now.'

'She'll be fine, she soaked up some moonlight, right?'

'Yes, I created a little window for her earlier so she 'moon-bathed.'

Musa chuckled at the idea but the sound of her weak, breathless chuckle disturbed her. She was physically fine and yet, she felt as if she were trapped in her body, her limbs heavy and her mind sluggish. Did this happen to everyone who depleted their magic? She'd overused her magic before in training simulations; Palladium encouraged it – like stretching muscles – but she'd never felt like this after.

'Do you think Bloom and the others are okay?'

'Sure they are,' Musa spoke around a yawn. 'She has the Specialists and Aisha and Tecna with her. That's like twice the needed brawn and brains.'

Grinning lightly, Flora closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. While she knew that Flora was concentrating, the eerie silence of the swamp was like fabric rubbing against a healing wound, catching on the flaking scabs and inflaming it.

'Why plant energy?' She asked, breaking the silence.

'Because plant energy is neutral, like healing energy. My magic is nature magic and while it can heal on a surface level, in a case such as this, I could cause more harm than good. Your magic is all but gone, if I were to use my magic I wouldn't be replenishing it, I would be replacing it. You'd become a nature fairy… don't look like that please,' Flora said with a faint laugh, 'Nature fairies are very powerful.'

Musa balked, shrinking back into the tree. 'I know, but I'm not a nature lover. I like nature,' she quickly amended, 'but not to the extent you do. I love my music and I know how to gain energy from it, to twist it into a defensive or offensive power.'

Something buzzed outside their little haven and Flora froze before answering softly. 'I understand. What I'm saying is that because your magic is so depleted, using my magic right now could cause the core of it, the _root_,' she emphasised, her voice soothing as she continued to soak up plant energy to transfer to Musa, 'to change – or your magic, what was left of it, could have attacked mine as an invader.

'It probably wouldn't, that's why we've been practicing convergence spells and why convergence needs such great trust between the users. If your magic attacked mine, you'd weaken yourself further. It's why our bodies react so badly to dark magic invading, it's an internal protection. That's why it's quite hard for dark magic users to possess Fairies, why it's an unethical practice that Fairies rarely use, and why Specialists are so prone to being possessed. They don't have that internal magic core that will fight back.'

Musa nodded, absorbing the information. On some level she knew she had probably heard this before but it was different hearing the theory and actually experiencing it. 'That's why Darcy was able to control Riven, nothing fought it off, and that's why when she tries it on us, we shake it so quickly.'

'Also if she were to possess a fairy, say Mirta, who was a witch – who made an active decision to change the root of her power – or a fairy with darker based powers, they wouldn't be able to shake it off. However, their bodies would fight it so hard that it would show itself physically. They'd get sick, weaken, become comatose.'

Musa considered that. 'Faragonda did that too, right? Not just Mirta.'

Flora nodded, holding up a hand that was now shimmering with a darker green light than she usually used. It wavered as Musa blinked and tried to focus on it. Maybe her magic senses were coming back. 'Change her root? That's the rumour, but she made a conscious choice to change. If I were to have changed you, it would have been a violation.'

Musa shook her head, then flinched as her vision greyed and one throbbing pound smacked her between the eyes.

'Sweetie, you need to rest. Just switch off that brain of yours and you'll be back at Alfea in no time.'

Musa closed her eyes settling back. 'I don't want to go back to Alfea,' she murmured as colours exploded behind her eyelids like mini explosions in time to the ache, 'I need to make sure Riven's okay.'

'Riven will be fine, he's tough and self-reliant. Worry about yourself.'

'Flora –'

There was a sound of footsteps and Flora released a relieved breath. 'Stella, Sirusa.'

Prying her eyes open until they were slits, Musa made out the blurred figures of Stella and the white clad figure of senior student Sirusa, a Healix Fairy. The cold lump of fear that she'd been ignoring in her chest began to thaw. If she couldn't get to Alfea, Sirusa was the next best thing.

'Sirusa.'

'Good grief Musa, you are so lucky I was free this afternoon.'

Musa tried to smile but it wobbled and collapsed pitifully. A sigh escaped her lips as she let her mind be lulled by her friends' conversation.

* * *

It didn't take Riven long to find his way back to where he'd left the girls and Stormy. Now that he knew where the Trix were, his feet were nimble as they trampled over dried leaves and brittle stems, bark cracked and clung to his palms as he leapt over fallen logs. He strode into the clearing, dusting off his cloak.

'Stella, Brandon needs you to help –' he broke off.

The clearing was empty.

Where was Stormy? Had she escaped? Was she battling… no, he couldn't hear anything like lightning and a flicker to his left had him spinning. Alfea could be seen wavering through a faint breach in the fabric of the swamp. The portal.

'Where are they?' he muttered, clenching a fist as he paced a tight circle in front of the portal. Had they gone through? It made sense. Musa needed the infirmary and Stormy needed to be incarcerated*. Perhaps they believed the others were more than capable of taking in the Trix, but it infuriated him that he hadn't been notified of their plans. Typical girls.

He expected better from Musa. Scowling angrily, he considered heading back to his squad but if they really needed the other fairies he couldn't do that. He could check the path though, make sure that they were gone out of the vicinity and weren't lingering where he'd left Musa. He jerked a shoulder and frowned as footsteps sounded in front of him.

Whoever it was, they were moving quickly. He stepped back into the shadows, pressing back into the rough bark of a dark tree trunk and released a sigh as Stella and Flora raced around the corner.

'Hey!' he called out.

Flora sucked in a sharp breath while Stella flushed at the squeak that escaped her lips. Her eyes narrowed as she registered his appearance. Great, he'd managed to piss them off again. It was becoming a habit, or maybe him existing annoyed the Blonde one. He could only see it as fair, since her breathing bugged him. Still in a situation as tense as this, he could put aside his ire.

'Where have you been?'

A muscle in his cheek twitched at the sharp question. 'Off checking with the others; they've captured the Trix.'

'Yes, Brandon told us.'

Brandon phoned them? Why hadn't he done that instead of sending Riven to get them? Riven cursed under his breath, ignoring Stella's rapidly rising ire. 'Where's Stormy?'

Propping her hand on her hip, Stella tilted her head, eyes drilling holes in him. 'Ralan and Kiloru took her back to Alfea.'

Who the heck were Ralan and Kiloru? He'd hazard a guess that they were fairies but that meant that the Templars hadn't arrived or weren't coming. Did Faragonda believe they – Alfea and Red Fountain students - could capture the Trix? That was underestimating the witches and Riven hated underestimating people; too many did the same to him: the little street rat, the gypsy boy, and the orphan who would never amount to much. He shook off the thoughts.

'We should go help Brandon, he sounded urgent,' Flora broke into his dark thoughts as she nudged Stella along but the look she sent him was cool, assessing.

He ignored it, his mind caught on another issue. 'What about Musa –'

'Stay away from her,' Stella snapped, her wings spreading out behind her. 'You've caused her enough grief.'

Grief? Had Musa told them about what had happened? Did… no, Musa couldn't think that he meant to hurt her. He was just trying to explain what other boys would think when they saw her in that costume. He would never hurt her, same as he'd never hurt any of the Jinx Club or any females. He might not trust women, considered them to be fickle beings, but he had his own honour. And Musa was…

'You should probably come with us,' Flora suggested softly, but her words lacked warmth. That was an obvious indicator that she didn't want him with them. Had his actions not proven anything? He'd kept Musa safe in the swamp, protected her from the bats, fought beside her, and treated her with respect.

They hadn't seen that, he reminded himself.

Then he realised that, by the tension in Stella's shoulders, Musa was still in the swamp. He could talk to her and maybe explain things. 'You two go ahead, talk to Brandon, I need to do something.'

'Stay away from Musa,' Stella called out to him even as Flora shepherded her away. 'You're good at that, so at least keep in character.'

'Stella, let's go help Brandon. He needs you.'

'Don't you want to see Darcy again? Or maybe you want to make sure Musa's there so you can rub her _mmph_!'

His blood chilled as he slowly turned to look at the Sun fairy. What was wrong with her? The poison escaping her lips was completely out of character. He bit his tongue against the bitter home truths ready to spill and ignoring her, he strode out of the clearing intent on finding out what was wrong with Musa.

* * *

'I hope they're okay,' Musa said, as she scratched her shoulder. Something was definitely using her as a snack.

Sirusa bobbed her head but didn't look away from the healing energy she was feeding into Musa's body, her brows knit in concentration. 'They'll be fine. They're just going to round up the rest of the Trix. Really, senior Witches aren't that much stronger than senior fairies, and you guys have already surpassed most of us. There's a rumour that you'll be graduating soon because you have your Enchantix – that's the first time in a long time that students graduated before their five years were up.'

Musa chuffed out a soft laugh. Sirusa was a good healer, not just in terms of physically healing someone but in making them feel better about themselves. She was bright and chipper with friendly hazel eyes, tousled waves of chestnut hair that rolled itself into a neat bun in her Healix form, and an affection for cute boys. 'That's all because of Bloom. I wouldn't have become what I am if not for her.'

'Perhaps, perhaps not. You're strong though, you survived the Succubae bats.' The awe in Sirusa's tone made Musa feel squeamish. She didn't want to think back to that moment when the bats had attacked, skimming her magic from her, so instead she focused her mind on a better moment.

'I survived them with help,' Musa murmured, tilting her head back to look up at the scattering of silver stars on the inky skyscape.

Sirusa hummed under her breath. 'Well, we should have you stabilised soon.'

'Yeah, where I get to go to the infirmary for the foreseeable future.'

'Don't be so glum. Better to be resting in the infirmary than dead, right? Anyway, you'll be unconscious. You'll not notice the days passing,' the Healix offered brightly, before resuming her humming as she healed.

Well that made Musa feel _so_ much better. She shifted and a rock pierced the flesh of her thigh. Flinching, her teeth caught her top lip as a sharp pain rocked through her. She eased back into her previous position but her body protested the movement. Her backside was numb from sitting on the hard ground, and there was a dull ache in her lower back, just to the right of her spine. A frown pursed her lips. When was the last time she'd had a toilet break? Her gaze flickered to Sirusa, wondering if the Healix fairy could maybe check on her kidney, or at least ease the pain in her back.

A movement out of the corner of her eye distracted her. Instinctively, the remnants of her magic began to flow to her hands in preparation of a shield.

Sirusa pinched her leg.

Hissing, Musa released the magic as she glowered in Riven's direction. The Specialist jogged down the path towards them, feet pounding out hollow thuds, his sword hilt held in his hand. She opened her mouth to make a snide comment but then she saw his expression: the flash of fear, the tension in his jaw and the clench of his shoulders. The caustic words rolled up, withered, and died on her tongue.

'What are you doing to her?' he directed at Sirusa. His words were clipped, but his eyes frantically scanned Musa as if he could see what was wrong. Musa felt like a voyeur seeing this much emotion from the stoic boy. He always claimed he didn't care but he did, he cared about her.

To her credit, Sirusa didn't jump, instead a green light exploded from her. Riven leapt back, sword flaring. Musa blinked. There was a solid yet translucent forest green, tent-shaped shield surrounding them.

'Friend of yours?' Sirusa asked softly, her eyes large and stunned.

'That's Riven.'

Nodding, Sirusa glanced at Riven through the shield. He stood with his sword tip pointed at the shield, eyes sharp. 'Oh, the Specialist. He's cute,' she murmured. 'Maybe you could tell him to back down.'

'Yeah, because he really listens to me,' Musa whispered but she turned her attention to Riven. 'I'm fine,' she told him, oozing reassurance she didn't really feel. 'Sirusa's just healing me and then we'll go to Alfea. The other girls got a call from Brandon –'

'Yeah I was with him and he told me to fetch them.' He jerked a shoulder, looking uncomfortable. 'I don't know why he phoned them. Can you take down the shield? I'm not a threat.'

Catching her breath, Sirusa nodded and the shield flared back into her body, illuminating her in a green aura before it disappeared. 'Sorry about that. It's instinctive. I'm a combat medic, in a battle situation my reflex has to form that shield to protect my patients.'

Riven jerked his head in curt acknowledgement, but the way his eyes darted around the swamp told Musa he was feeling awkward. She supposed that was an issue for someone who was such a loner. It was a miracle he ever talked to anyone. Suddenly he blew out a breath and swiped his sword through the air.

'You should go help them capture the Trix,' Musa offered. After all, he needed his closure with Darcy. Maybe if he got it, he would move on and his demons would be put to rest, because in all honesty, something had to give inside that boy. If it didn't, he would end up hurting himself. Guilt was a nasty thing that could eat someone alive.

'Yeah, well they can probably handle it,' he muttered, raking a hand through his hair. And now he was trying to be the decent guy, the hero trying to protect her? Why did he have to make things so hard? Every time she felt that she understood him a little, had him pegged in her head, he shifted and developed a new facet that she couldn't help but find attractive. She was not going to get over him, not unless she stopped seeing him.

'Hey, boy genius,' Sirusa called out, 'Don't be going too far. I'm going to need help getting this one back to Alfea. I'm not a Guardian Fairy, you know.'

'Then what are you?' Riven asked, interest piqued, as he stepped closer to see what she was doing.

'A Healix Fairy.'

Musa shook her head, feeling faintly amused with his interest in fairies. She wondered if he'd questioned Darcy so much on Witches, then she shook that thought away. 'I'm a Guardian Fairy, Sirusa.' Well she hadn't graduated yet, but she was close enough. 'We'll be fine.' Riven needed to go and she wasn't going to be a bother to him anymore. It was bad enough that she'd fainted when the bats attacked and that she'd emotionally vomited over him earlier. She was not a damsel in distress and she didn't want Riven to think that way about her. She could get herself back to Alfea.

Sirusa snorted, a harsh sound from such a delicate looking fairy. 'You were knocking at Death's door and all but barging in when I found you. You were using the word fine then too. I don't believe it means what you think it means.'

Riven loomed over her and Musa felt her face heat at his inscrutable stare. 'What is she talking about?'

'She has a name. It's Sirusa and I'm talking about your girlfriend almost dying.'

'Dying?' His head snapped between them. 'You were dying? When? Why didn't you tell me it was that bad?'

'I'm not his girlfriend,' Musa was quick to clarify.

'Oh? Seresa will be upset,' Sirusa murmured as she leaned closer, expression focused on her task. 'She was betting on you two getting together this year.'

Musa's face grew hotter. Oh, Riven did not need to hear this. Heck, she didn't need to hear what her peers were saying behind her back but Seresa had better watch herself.

Riven dropped to a crouch beside her, violet eyes furiously studying her as he caught her chin and forced her to look at him. His fingers burnt a hot, rough imprint into her skin. 'You were that badly injured and you didn't tell me. Damnit Muse, how am I supposed to protect you when you won't tell me anything?'

Pot, meet Kettle. She wanted to speak the words but they were like dust on her tongue. She tried to swallow and nearly choked herself, her mind flashing back to less than an hour ago when Riven had invaded her space.

Sirusa had no such issues with talking. 'Magic deficiency and almost poisoned by a spider. Luckily Flora arrived just before that happened, because there's no way she would have held on until I came with that venom in her system.'

'I'm right here,' Musa muttered, hoping to alleviate the situation but Sirusa was in no mood to back off. She was like a Cloud Tower Minotaur when it came to defending her patients.

'And where were you, lover boy?'

'I… left her.' Riven's words were blunt and filled with self-recrimination as he dropped his hand and stood up. Musa sighed softly and tried to catch his eyes but they didn't lift from the ground. 'I went to check on my team – my friends.' Brandon would be cartwheeling for joy hearing that term falling from Riven's lips, but it was a testament to how much Sirusa's question had rocked him. Musa lifted her hand to offer him some semblance of comfort; her heart ached for him.

'Aw, that's so sweet, Wiven's got fwiends.'

* * *

_TBC_

* * *

* When rereading this and editing, I came across this line but instead of Stormy it said Stella. I was very tempted to keep it. It shows the state of mind Riven was in while I was writing haha.

Sirusa, Kiloru, Ralan, Seresa are girls from the Winx Playstation/PC game - I don't own them.

Well I hope everyone is enjoying their day. All reviews are appreciated - I do post my fanfiction to share them with others, it's nice to know others enjoy them too.


	9. Part Nine

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Winx – it is the property of Rainbow and Nick. I do however own the concept of this storyline and the dialogue and writing herein.

* * *

Previously on Black Mud Swamp:

_Sirusa had no such issues with talking. 'Magic deficiency and almost poisoned by a spider. Luckily Flora arrived just before that happened, because there's no way she would have held on until I came with that venom in her system.'_

_'I'm right here,' Musa muttered, hoping to alleviate the situation but Sirusa was in no mood to back off. She was like a Cloud Tower Minotaur when it came to defending her patients._

_'And where were you, lover boy?'_

_'I… left her.' Riven's words were blunt and filled with self-recrimination as he dropped his hand and stood up. Musa sighed softly and tried to catch his eyes but they didn't lift from the ground. 'I went to check on my team – my friends.' Brandon would be cartwheeling for joy hearing that term falling from Riven's lips, but it was a testament to how much Sirusa's question had rocked him._

_'Aw, that's so sweet, Wiven's got fwiends.'_

_Part Nine_

Riven's head snapped up, his sword flaring bright as he slipped into a defensive stance, placing himself firmly between the fairies and the hovering witch. Musa tried to move to get a lock on Darcy but Sirusa's deceptively strong grip kept her in place.

'Protect Musa,' Riven called over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off Darcy.

'Healix, Surgeon Shield.'

The green opaque tent formed around them and then another appeared within it, swelling to knit with the first. From inside, Musa watched Riven. Her stomach churned, and her fingertips tingled. She needed to get out there; she needed to help him. Magic fought magic, and while Riven might have been a good physical match for Darcy, her psychological skills far outmatched his. He needed Musa to watch his back, the same way he would watch hers.

'Sirusa, he can't fight her on his own.'

'You can't fight at all and I'm not a warrior.' Despite this Sirusa's eyes were worried as they flicked back and forth from her patient to the Specialist. 'You just have to trust that he knows what he's doing, he's been training all this time after all.'

That wasn't reassuring. Sirusa hadn't been at their previous fights, she hadn't seen the tortured expression Riven wore when he talked about the way he betrayed his squad. Sirusa hadn't heard his desperate battle with the Witch of Darkness or Darcy's cajoling words. The Witch was the Queen of Manipulations and Riven was doubly susceptible to her. They had a past and –

Musa slumped. 'You're right. Riven, make it fast! I'm kind of hungry.'

Riven snorted and threw her a smirk that made her stomach flutter. 'Seriously, just concentrate on walking first; doing both might be too much for your little pixie brains to handle.'

She shook her head with a rueful smile, enjoying Darcy's growl of disgust.

A ball of crackling purple and black energy blasted the ground in front of Riven. 'Pay attention, sweetums,' Darcy drawled, slowly dropping down to the ground. 'Your little Pixie friend doesn't look too good. Is she dying?' She oozed feigned sweetness, as if she really cared about Riven's friends. 'Aw, poor Wiven. Do you need a hug?'

Riven's posture relaxed, his fingers loosening on the hilt of his phantoblade, giving him a deceptively lazy look, but Musa knew him. He was more alert than ever. She could see his head subtly tilting left and right as if he was listening out for other dangers.

'Is that one of the Trix?'

'That's Darcy,' Musa answered Sirusa, as the Healix fairy continued to spread warmth and yellow magic into her solar plexus.

'Oh, she was part of the Army of Decay fiasco.'

'Mm.' It wasn't that Musa wanted to be rude but she did want to hear what Darcy was saying.

'Where's Icy?' Riven asked, his tone conversational as he idly podded the toe of his boot with the tip of his blade.

'Oh you know Icy, she ah, is playing a little game: Hunt and destroy. I'm kind of jealous; it's a fun game. I was prepared to play too, had found a nice spot to pick off some victims, but then you appeared. I decided to follow you instead to make sure you were okay.'

Musa tried to sense her friends as Darcy's words created a cold dark space inside her. Brandon had said that they had the Trix trapped. Obviously that wasn't true because Darcy was there in front of them.

'Your friends still think we're in our little cave,' Darcy said, with a secretive smile, drawing her teeth over her bottom lip.

Riven's body tensed. 'How?'

'Oh, you have your little geeky, nerd friend with his little holograms, and we have, well, me.' She spread her hands and pushed out her hip as she posed for him. 'I am the Queen of Illusions.'

Riven's shoulders slump as his grip clenched on his scimitar. 'You weren't in the tube.'

Darcy snorted, drawing her fingers through her long hair. 'Like we'd be caught dead in such a cramped little sty. No, we just threw up a few barriers, created a little illusion and your boy soldiers fell for it. I'm quite proud of myself,' she said with a delighted smirk.

Her body swayed in front of him; dancing to music only she could hear. The witch oozed sex appeal – it was yet another of her manipulations. Musa growled under her breath as her fingers tapped rapidly at her phone. She had to alert the others. Icy was hunting them and they didn't even know it.

'Icy is out numbered.'

'Icy likes those odds,' Darcy smirked, golden eyes growing bright. 'She's surprisingly good at hiding and then striking someone where it hurts the most, emotionally as well as physically.'

'Why do this?'

'Oh, Riven,' the Witch groaned. To Musa's ears, she sounded disappointed with him. 'I don't want to play question games.' She stepped forward; slow, measured steps that made her hips roll. 'I want to play with you.'

Musa's blood ran cold.

'Why?' His tone was sharp, commanding.

Studying the ends of her hair, Darcy answered him. 'Because we're going to get captured.' She looked up and placed her hands on her waist, her brown hair falling down to frame her svelte figure. 'We know that, but we can live with it. We'll just break out again. We didn't plan to go back but Stormy…' She clenched her fists. 'Stormy got caught and we need her. The easiest way to get her back is to get recaptured.'

'So hold your hands out and I'll cuff you, make sure the two of you get neighbouring cells.'

'Aw, that's sweet Puppy, but…' she bit her lip, leaning close to him only to fly backwards with a laugh when his sword swiped at her. 'Naughty, naughty. No, we will get caught or turn ourselves in, but we thought that since we're here, and you all are here, why don't we get a little revenge.'

Riven's body braced, while Musa tensed. Her messages weren't going through again and the swamp was getting darker, shadows creeping out from the long limbed branches and folding between the trunks. She couldn't hear the bubbling of mud pools or the buzz of nearby flies. All sound was swallowed except for faint hum of Sirusa's shield.

'Your 'friends' always underestimated us. They thought that we were merely senior witches but Riven, puppy, we're not merely anything. I am a descendant from the Ancestral witches, I'm the Queen of Darkness and Illusion, and,' she held up her wrist, enclosed in an intricate wrist brace of woven indigo runes that glowed, 'I have a Whisperian crystal.'

She wet her lips and chuckled softly. 'You should have destroyed us when you had the chance, but you, with your honour – your weak, weak honour – simply won't do that.'

Riven growled, the blade of his sword quivering. 'What are you planning?'

_Don't lose your temper, Riven_, Musa thought at him. She tried to pull magic to her fingertips, but while she could feel energy swirling in the well deep within her body, its movements were sluggish and nothing responded to her call.

'Now you have to wonder, how would Bloom function without Sky? Or the little Squire without his Sun Princess? Or, how about, the nerd without other nerd?' They wouldn't… Musa blinked, a numb sensation settling like a blanket over her.

'Icy has so many to choose from and you're all so close –' Musa's heart thudded hard when the witch looked past Riven and waved at her. 'Hello Musa, did you think I'd forgotten about you?'

'Don't talk to her,' Riven ordered lightly, reaching back under his cloak to pull out his bolas.

Darcy ran her hands back to her hair and arched her body in a long stretch. 'Don't even try using that toy on me, it won't work; as for your little fairy friend, I think she should know that she's not getting out of here alive. My sisters and I just wanted to be left alone. She and her friends came after us, disturbed our peace, and now they'll be punished. Stay out of my way, Riven, you can't fight me. I'm not even sure you want to, if you're honest with yourself.'

Musa swallowed hard while Sirusa sat up on her heels, looking around at the witch warily. 'Musa, I think we're in big trouble.'

'Don't get in my way, Riven.' Darcy swept up into the air and blasted dark energy at the music fairy.

Musa's hands flew up to cover her face. Riven shouted. There was a shuddering bang and Musa flinched at the noise before slowly looking up.

The shield stood firm and Sirusa knelt before her, scowling. 'Stupid witch, it will take more than that to take down that shield. She may be a powerful witch but I'm a Healix Fairy, and I'm very good at what I do.'

'Darcy!' Riven snarled, charging the witch with his sword raised.

Darcy dodged and laughed bitterly, as she threw more energy at the shield. It rippled and shuddered, but showed no sign of breaking. Musa watched the scene with her hand over her mouth. Riven couldn't land a hit on the witch, she was too fast, airborne, and she refused to attack him. It was the most frustrating battle, more so, because Musa couldn't get involved. Every sharp movement made her head spin but at least her stomach wasn't churning anymore, just cramping but that was bearable. She wanted to help Riven, or at least summon help. Where were the others? Weren't Ralan and Kiloru coming back? Didn't Faragonda understand how strong the Trix were? What was happening with the others?

Musa's body clenched and she tasted copper. Touching her lip, her finger came away with a spot of crimson on the tip. Watching this fight was agony. She had to do something.

Suddenly, Riven froze. His hand lowered, his sword dropped and his whole body relaxed.

A hissed curse escaped Musa's lips as she scrambled to the shield and pounded a fist against it. 'Riven!'

'Don't hit my shield – Why isn't he moving?'

Musa shook her head, eyes smarting with fury as realisation set in. 'She's in his head. That witch is in his head.' She spun and seized Sirusa's hands. 'We need to do something.'

The Healix fairy sighed, untangling Musa's tight grip on her. 'Even if I could take down this barrier, there's nothing you could do to fight her. While she might not have a glittery transformation, she's still a formidable witch and her power, her experience, far out matches yours.'

'I took her on before.'

'And she's still standing, which tells me she escaped and you're not strong enough…'

Sirusa's words faded away and Musa turned back to Riven. On the ground, shadows were now slithering towards his motionless form. Darcy landed on the ground and approached him, her face curiously soft. With a heavy twist in her gut, Musa watched as the witch's bejewelled hand came up to stroke his cheek. The intimate moment made Musa's skin crawl, her chest hurt. She wanted Riven to flinch but she knew from the rigidity of his body that he was already trapped in Darcy's spell.

Her palm burned with the urge to hurl magic at the witch. How dare Darcy take advantage of Riven like that? She was violating him and he couldn't defend himself – worse, some part of him was probably aware that she and Sirusa were watching him in this vulnerable state. How could Darcy claim to care about him and then subject him to this?

The shadows swirled around Riven's parted legs and slid up around the couple. Darcy's eyes flashed indigo. The shadows folded over them like petals closing. Then there was nothing but darkness.

For a moment Musa stared at the dark spot where they'd stood but she could see nothing in the dense shadows. Were they still there or had they translocated somewhere?

'Riven? Riven!'

'Where did they go? I can't see them,' Sirusa whispered.

Musa shook her head, denial screaming through her. 'This is Darcy's magic; he has to be there. I – Sirusa, we have to do something. We have to save him.'

* * *

Riven had been exposed enough times to Darcy's magic that he knew he was trapped in a spell. The woman had an uncanny knack of weaving them around him before he could counteract her magic. It might be an idea, he mused, refusing to panic, to talk to Saladin about an anti-possession charm. He'd never considered one before because Darcy had cast him aside once he was no longer useful, but today had forced him to revise that theory. Darcy had popped into his head one too many times for his liking. He didn't like the way the spells rendered him useless on the battlefield. No doubt such a thing wouldn't happen to Sky or Brandon; they were too noble to be swayed by darkness.

Hissing out a curse, he stalked along the narrow passageway as walls of melting purple hues closed around him. The shadows swallowed his footsteps and obscured the direction he travelled; the only light seemed to exude from his own body in a small circle. His sword was gone, his fingers felt strange and useless, and he couldn't hear any signs of life around him. He was effectively blind and defenceless, perfect prey.

He was more concerned about the others. Icy was obviously going to attack the others to destroy their morale. If she killed Sky, Bloom would be out of the game; if anyone else got hurt, the guilt would cripple the group. It was the curse of their little faction. Emotions, he knew, were a weakness in war and yet here he was caring more about stupid fairies than his own lack of a weapon. Great Dragon, he hoped that Darcy was in this spell somewhere and not outside attacking Musa. He didn't know how much damage the Healix fairy's shield could take.

He stalked forward along the road, keeping his hands loose as he looked around. Where was he? Where was the exit out of this spell? There was always an out; he just had to maintain focus. Saladin had pushed him hard, at Riven's request, to break spells like this. Illusions were tough – and in the hands of Darcy, the Queen of Illusions, they were almost impossible to break – but he had experienced this before, he refused to feel trapped.

Goosebumps prickled along his skin as the magic grew thicker and slipped down into his airways. There was a childish impulse in him to hold his breath or pinch his nose, but losing consciousness was hardly a master plan. Unless Darcy actually cared about him… he could try feigning death, wait for her to coo over him and then choke her. And then he'd just have to live with Musa's horror, the disappointment in his team's eyes, and Icy and Stormy breathing down his neck. He'd save that for plan B.

He turned a corner on the path, and the wavering light from his body stretched further to illuminate a cobblestone street. He frowned, and the liquid walls became structures. As they did, as the ghostly forms of people began to rush by him, he realised that he was in a shadow version of Magix's Market Street. It was just off Main Street, and catered to the quieter shops, the places where traffic wasn't as frequent, and also played host to Maggie's Tearoom, the place where most of Cloud Tower tended to congregate. It wasn't as brightly lit as other establishments, and Maggie had a tendency to turn a blind eye to any use of small magic. It was a little bit shady, but it served the best brownies and a decent beer on tap.

Something cold slid down his spine, a phantom caress, but it still made him roll his shoulders and seek out the exits. Except where Dragon Lane met Nymph Blvd., there was nothing but swirling shadows. He allowed himself to be herded towards Maggie's, and as soon as he resigned himself to that, the street misted away, and he was in the café. Around him, figures outlined in inverted purple light sat at tables, lined up at the counter and created the echoic buzz of conversation associated with a crowded establishment. He looked around, sidestepped a ghostly waif, and froze at the sight of himself, clear and solid, sitting at a table with… Darcy.

He scowled at his former, arrogant self. When had wearing a copped white Tee seemed like a good idea? Just looking at the smug smirk, the eager body language of a puppy dying for its next bit of praise, made him embarrassed. At the table Darcy reached for his former self's hand and looked deep in his eyes, her eyes glowing indigo. Persuasion spell. Why hadn't he seen it at the time? Because he'd been too damn blinded by pride, arrogance, and the desire to feel understood and needed by someone.

Striding towards them, intent on breaking up the show, he slammed into a barrier. It rippled on contact, but stayed strong. He sighed. Was this Darcy's game? Play their little moments over and over again? He folded his arms and turned his back on the show.

They were still in front of him.

He tucked his tongue in his cheek, scratched his arm and rolled his neck. This wouldn't take long. Their 'relationship' had consisted of this date, him telling her about Sky and Bloom's plans, and the odd visit to Cloud Tower before she'd imprisoned him when he was no longer useful.

Looking up, Darcy met his gaze. 'Join me,' she called.

No longer did he stand on the side-lines, now he sat across from her at the little intimate table with the small candle encased in thin, intricately woven, vines. As the light from the flame flickered over her face, he could understand what drew him to her initially. Darcy was unlike the other girls, especially the fairies from Alfea. She was beautiful, and aware of it. He had liked the envious looks his classmates had sent him, the way they'd hover back and nudge each other as he, a sophomore Specialist, dated one of the Trix. She didn't play coy or chase after him. Her mystery, however, was constructed on lies and illusions.

She hadn't wanted him. He'd been a means to an end.

He leaned back in his chair and studied her. This time there would be no more illusions. He wouldn't fall for the little tricks she used, the way she circled her finger around the edge of her glass, the soft suction she applied when she 'burnt' her finger, or the way she carefully kept her gaze off him when toying with him. This time, instead of using these moments of distraction to stare at her, Riven followed her gaze and lifted a brow in incredulity when he saw their reflections mirrored back in the tarnished glass.

Darcy smirked and turned to face him. 'You think you're so clever now, don't you?'

'Clever enough to know you're playing me and that this,' he gestured to the 'café' around them, 'is a spell.'

'Well I didn't really attempt to hide that,' she retorted, sipping her mocha. 'The walls are purple.'

'Let's just end this now, come with me peacefully, and you can return to your little vacation in the Fortress –'

Darcy rolled her eyes to the ceiling. 'Some vacation. It's boring and I don't like peaceful.' She sat forward, eyes intent on him. 'Why can't you accept who you are? At least here you can be yourself, be honest.'

'Honest? In an illusion,' Riven scoffed. 'Nothing about us was honest. I was under a spell, you were in my head, and you were playing with me.'

'You have a darkness in you, that's why I was attracted to you, but when you're out there, with them, you suppress it. You let them manipulate you into being something good, someone heroic. You should embrace who you really are and, if they truly cared, they'd accept you.'

'They do accept me,' he growled, raking a hand through his hair.

'No,' she sighed, 'they don't. They want you to be good and righteous – you're more than that.' She leaned forward, ferventness or madness burning a fire in her pale gold eyes. 'Riven, you're strong, resourceful and you don't need to abide by their rules. They constrain you, and your 'team' hold you back with their manipulations, forcing you to feel guilt for things you shouldn't.'

She stood, circling around the table so that she leaned over him, the faint scent of sage and lemon drifting from her hair as it slid down over her shoulders. 'They still blame you for what happened last year, don't they? You'll be forever paying for it, and every time something goes wrong in their perfect little world, the finger will point immediately at you. It's easier for them to blame you instead of face up to their own troubles, isn't it?'

'You released the Army of Decay on them. You destroyed Red Fountain –'

'Three different schools,' she said, straightening to tuck a blonde tendril of hair behind her ears, 'causes division. By levelling them we could have united the youth of Magix. There wouldn't be a school for fairies, witches and Specialists but one school for all of us. There would be no segregation and people would have no reason to fear each other.'

Riven rolled his eyes. 'That wasn't your reason for it.'

She chuckled softly and stretched, showing off her the smooth lines of her body. 'No, but it sounded good. That's how Bloom and her little friends would justify it, right? The greater good, but what that boils down to is a great big lie. We wanted power; we wanted to prove that we had power. We were student witches who summoned the Army of Decay. We're legends now.'

'You're an escaped convict now,' Riven muttered, tightening his hands on his knees, trying to surreptitiously wipe the clamminess off them. What was going on here? He didn't understand what was happening. Did Darcy trap him here to talk? Usually she played around in his head, like burning fingertips raking through his thoughts, pulling up his squirreled away memories, his little secret desires. Usually she liked to twist them, and while they tore at his gut, he could defend against that, harden himself to whatever little perversion she chose to play. This was unnerving. This camaraderie made his skin crawl.

'Hardly Riven. There are no simple labels for us. We don't do things because we have an agenda. We want to be powerful. We're fed up of people's rules. You understand that.' She trailed her fingers along the back of a chair; then paused. Her eyes met his, glowing faintly.

Riven felt his skin grow hot and begin to prickle. He looked away sharply, surging to his feet. 'Stop trying to manipulate me, I'm not –'

'You keep trying to be noble,' she spun the chair around and sat on it, folding her arms over the back, 'but it's not like you. Don't you see they're trying to control you? I would never do that –'

Except, she had, clearly, when she'd placed her magic in his head. If that didn't stink of magical mind control he didn't know what did.

'Okay, so maybe I would, but you wouldn't have noticed me otherwise.' She pouted, a little moue that curved her dark lips. When he failed to respond, she sighed gustily. 'The point is, you keep trying to change, to fit in with them but you never will because they can't accept you, they can't trust you. I hate to see you hide yourself to please them.'

When his hand reached lower towards his weapon again he quickly folded his arms across his chest, resting his hip on the table. His lips pressed in a firm line, his jaw clenched.

'Oh Dragon,' she groaned with a huffed out laugh. 'You can't seriously believe they're your friends. Oh Puppy, you're still so naïve. They don't trust you. If they did, why did the Squire send you away?'

The abrupt change in her tactics made him pause for a moment, his brain struggling to connect his thoughts.

'He told me to get the other fairies.' The words fell flat at her smoky laugh.

'Is that why he phoned them? Riven, face it, he wanted to get you away because he didn't trust you around me. He thought you'd join with us, turn on them. Better to put you out of the way of temptation, right?'

He grabbed the cup of coffee in front of him and drank it down, easing his dust-dry throat. 'You don't know that.'

She shrugged, lacing her fingers under her chin. 'And what about –' Her eyes narrowed over the amber lenses of her glasses. 'Why are you here?'

He tensed, then glanced over his shoulder. Musa. She was dressed in her Enchantix, standing by an archway, her eyes wild and her hands braced against the walls. His heart slammed hard into his ribs, then dropped. He backed up, glancing at Darcy trying to gauge her reaction. Had she conjured Musa? Was this another trick?

'How did you get here?' he asked.

'I jumped into the darkness. I thought you needed help. I didn't expect to find you sipping tea with _her_.' She sneered in Darcy's direction. 'Don't you know what she's doing? She's playing you, again. How can you fall for it again? It's like you want her to keep dragging you into the dark.'

No, that wasn't what he wanted. He just wanted to be left alone. He didn't want to be tugged on like a ragdoll.

'Oh and here comes the drama,' Darcy drawled, lifting her feet onto a nearby chair and crossing her ankles. 'Why must you be so loud?'

Musa, quivering on her heeled sandals, seared her with a look. 'Shut up! You keep your poisonous tongue in your mouth.'

'Riven likes my tongue in his mouth.'

'Again? Riven – why – I don't – How could you do this to me?'

Do this to her? He wasn't doing anything. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes trying to block out this train wreck. Why couldn't Musa trust him to handle this? After what they'd gone through in the Black Mud Swamp surely she should… he shook his head.

Something was wrong with this.

He crossed to her but she shook her head, holding up her hands and backing away. Something was off. Was she real? Why wouldn't she look at him? He needed to see her eyes; things would make sense then. He tried to seize her shoulders but she slipped away, head down. Tears trailed down her cheeks and his stomach cramped hard. He didn't like this. He never wanted this. He needed to get out, needed to fix this.

'I hate you, Riven! You're always doing this to me.'

'I – I didn't mean –'

Raking a hand through his hair, with his chest trembling, he looked around for the exit. Something was wrong. Musa was wrong.

'See Riven,' Darcy sighed, rising to her feet, 'she doesn't understand you. She doesn't believe in you. None of them do. You're not like them, you'll never belong.' Her voice circled in his head, soft like velvet.

'You're always going to go back to them. You should just join them,' Musa spat, tears streaming down her cheeks.

His hands lifted to close over his ears. There was a shrieking in his head, a loud rushing roar crashing over him. His skin tightened to a hot vice around his body, and, as he tried to compose his thoughts, he saw her.

She was standing in a beam of light, hands clasped behind her back as she watched him. He blinked hard. She was still there and she looked like Musa, but not one he'd ever seen. While she was wearing the red Winx costume – the one he preferred on her – with the platform boots and the pink ribbons on her arms, her hair was different, still long but now tied in low pigtails. More than that, she was too serene to be Musa; there was none of that vibrant energy around her.

Someone grabbed him roughly and he looked down at the white knuckled fists that Enchantix Musa had locked on his cloak. Her head was turned down and her voice was thick, 'Riven, you have to come with me. Darcy's just toying with you. Please, Riven. You have to believe me.'

He shrugged her off, feeling caged. This wasn't like Musa. He forced himself to really look at her. She looked wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on what. It was like looking at identical twins and knowing they were different. This was not the Musa he spent hours with in the Swamp.

His gaze passed over her to the second Musa, and he frowned, feeling himself pulled towards her. Darcy tried to call out his name, Enchantix Musa began sobbing, but Riven didn't care. He needed to get to ethereal Musa standing in the spotlight. She was like the calm in the storm, exuding tranquillity.

'Riven –'

'Riven! You can't leave me with her. Darcy will kill me.' He let the words roll off his back.

'Where are you going?'

The Musa in red pressed her finger to her lips and pointed to a dark corner where the purple had turned to black. That was the exit. Not wasting any time, Riven jogged towards it, hoping it wouldn't disappear. He needed to get out of Darcy's spell and see what was going on. The idea that she had distracted him in order to hamper his team twisted his guts into a greasy knot. There would be no regaining his honour this time if he'd failed them again. More importantly, he needed to make sure Musa and the Healix fairy were safe.

The spell began to crumble, as he got closer to the dark vortex, and Darcy's sound of outrage and Musa's cry merged. A quick glance over his shoulder and he saw two Darcy's standing there looking outraged, oblivious to Red Musa raising a hand in a wave with a faint smile on her lips.

He dived through the vortex just as everything shattered. Blinding light scorched his vision turning it white as he hit the ground, tucking into a roll. Everything spun as he tried to regain his bearings. He grabbed for his sword, relieved to find it back in place, and it flared to life in his grip.

'He's back!'

He blinked rapidly, bringing Musa's concerned face into focus as she stood behind the shield, fists clenched against it. Sirusa stood behind her, propped against the tree looking peaked.

'You broke it… how did you break it?'

He turned his attention to Darcy as the witch, slowly straightened, pressing her fingers to her temple. He could imagine that she had a throbbing headache, but he couldn't bring himself to feel sympathy. Her eyes glowed indigo as she split her body into four more copies. Riven swayed, his head spinning as he slid into a defensive stance and raised his sword. Purple energy pooled in eight hands as they rose to target him. Violet shards took form, hovering in front of the witch.

Through the white noise he heard Musa's muted shout.

'Dark Daggers!' the witch shouted.

Riven threw himself to the side and felt the wind whistle as they passed over him. He opened his eyes to see the line of dark crystals impaled in the tree above him. His hands moved to his chest, searching for wounds just as Musa slid to her knees at his side, blocking out the light. She stared down at him, her pupils so dilated that the navy was only a faint rim, her face was bone white with hot colour on her cheeks as her breath came in shallow pants. If he took her pulse right now he knew it would be racing from the fight. Her hair brushed his chest, smelling of violets. Her soft, gloved hands carefully cradled his face as she searched his expression. This was the Musa he knew.

'Are you hurt?'

He shook his head and caught sight of Darcy rising over them in the air. As the air glowed purple again, he cursed and rolled Musa to the side, covering her body.

'Riven!'

Dark Dagger!'

'Ivy Fortress'

He felt the earth move under Musa's body and he stared into her startled eyes. They both sprang apart to look behind them where thick vines had rushed up to the sky, forming a thick reedy barrier. Purple crystals glittered, wedged within them before dispersing into motes of light.

'Musa, Riven? Are you guys okay?'

Riven had to snort at his own sense of relief at hearing Stella's voice. Not a year ago he would have been furious at their appearance. He hadn't needed the fairies help, but now he gladly took it, especially if it meant that he and Musa would get out of this alive. His gaze swept to the Healix fairy, protected behind a small barrier but her frantic gaze was latched on them.

Musa scrambled to her feet, vibrating with fury. 'Darcy, you witch!'

Stella landed beside Musa, taking her hand. Both girls stretched out their free hands. 'Flora!'

The vines parted to show Darcy hovering in front of them, hands glowing once more.

'Psychic Blast!'

'Enchantix Convergence!' Yellow and magenta energy beamed like lasers from the girls' hands, overwhelming the dark attack and shot straight into Darcy. She screeched and slammed into a tree, her head bouncing with the impact, before she slumped to the ground. The Ivy fortress unravelled, returning to the earth but for two vines that wound their way across the clearing to bind Darcy's hands and legs.

'Thank the Dragon,' Stella muttered, blowing out a breath. 'I didn't realise the Trix would be so hard to take down.'

'Bloom and the others, are they okay?' Musa blurted out. 'It was a trick, Icy and Darcy weren't really in –'

'Tecna worked it out, but she kept playing along, and Brandon figured that Darcy would probably follow Riven, so he sent Riven back to get us. It worked, Icy tried to attack Bloom and Sky, but the others ambushed her and caught her.'

Riven felt his blood go hot. 'Wait, Brandon wanted me to lead Darcy back to Musa?'

'No… well kind of.' Stella spread her hands and shrugged. 'I don't really understand what the plan was. The main thing is that the Trix are caught.' With a smile, the Sun fairy scurried off to help Flora and Sirusa.

Heat burned at his side and he looked down. A dark stain had begun to spread and he grunted, beginning to feel the sting of pain. Musa followed his gaze and her face whitened.

'It's just a flesh wound,' he told her, prying the saturated cloth away from the scratch. Using his cloak, he wiped away the pooling blood, trying to show her that it was only a surface scratch. 'I was lucky.'

'You –' Musa broke off with a hiss of her breath, dropping to her knees beside him. He found himself staring at skin, lots of skin. He clenched his jaw and averted his gaze, taking in her wings. That's what Darcy had got wrong, he noted, but he became distracted when Musa prodded the injury.

'What are you doing?' he ground out.

'You've been injured by dark magic,' she replied, taking the small bottle from her throat, and opening it, she tapped a little onto his side. He felt the sizzle and tingle of magic seeping into his wound and then the sting was gone.

'Musa, it was just a scratch. You didn't have to waste magic on me.'

She smiled faintly as she rose to her feet, wings twitching, and held out a hand for him. He took it and stood beside her. It was over, he realised. The Trix were captured. Icy was on her way to join Stormy at Alfea and soon Darcy would be there too, so the three could be returned to the Fortress of Light. Hopefully, this time they wouldn't escape again.

His mission with Musa had ended and he didn't know how felt about that.

Riven watched as Stella and Flora jerked Darcy to her feet and they began a slow march towards the portal. He sighed, and glanced over at Musa. Her eyes were closed, she was breathing in deep and slow and there was a faint wavering in her stance. Alarm leapt through him.

'Time to get you to the infirmary, Musa. You can't put it off any longer.' Sirusa didn't waste time; grabbing the Music fairy, she led her from the clearing.

Musa glanced back at him, but he couldn't meet her gaze. He needed time to process what had happened. From the moment they'd left Alfea and stepped into the swamp, so many things had occurred that Riven didn't think he was the same person anymore.

He stashed his sword, picked up the bolas he'd dropped when Darcy had bespelled him and headed for the portal. Once he got back to Red Fountain, he and Brandon were going to have a little chat.

* * *

Author Note: So finally, Musa and Riven have managed to escape Black Mud Swamp. There will be one more chapter after this. Reviews are really appreciated.


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